Salsomaggiore, Parma
2026
QC Spa of Wonders
An emotional layer connects art, architecture and people at the Terme Berzieri

In the grand first-floor Salone, video projections reinterpret the historic frescoes in slow visual compositions that integrate visitors' faces in real time; in the corridor, four interactive mirrors dissolve from steam on proximity to reveal micro-stories from the history of the Terme.

Technology operates as a discreet presence throughout, calibrated to the rhythm of the spaces and the movements of the people within them.

The generative AI runs entirely on a single dedicated local machine. This means no internet connection, no external data transfer and making data privacy and energy efficiency structural choices rather than afterthoughts.

The Immersive Room

The Salone hosts a system of wall projections that reinterpret Moroni's frescoes and Chini's decorative language through slow animations and colour palettes drawn from the building itself. Visitors can capture their face on a tablet and see it projected into the scene with high stylistic coherence, becoming part of the fresco.

Privacy and energy footprint

Face tracking and pose detection run entirely on a single on-site machine. No data reaches external servers; generated images are converted into temporary text strings and discarded immediately after projection. The local architecture also cuts infrastructural energy consumption significantly and allows precise control over the system's active cycles. Style transfer was calibrated to respect each visitor's skin tone, and the figure set was expanded beyond the original iconographic canon to represent a wider range of ethnicities and gender identities.

The corridor of interactive mirrors

Four interactive mirrors line the corridor, using steam (the defining element of the thermal experience) as their visual language. In standby, condensation blurs the reflections into evanescent silhouettes. On approach, the vapour dissolves to reveal a micro-story. Each mirror addresses a distinct chapter: the extraction of salt and thermal water; historic spa treatments reread through vintage advertising; archival photographs of daily life at the Terme; Chini's decorations transformed into rhythmic visual sequences.

An invitation to contemplation

At the centre of the Salone, a seating structure incorporates display cases with original architectural fragments, inviting visitors to pause. Light and narrative converge in a suspended space where memory, technology and wellbeing meet.

Credits
Multimedia by Dotdotdot
Team

Laura Dellamotta

Giovanna Gardi

Alessandro Masserdotti

Fabrizio Pignoloni

Antonio Cioppa

Nicola Buccioli

Federica Mandelli

Davide Bruno

Pietro Forino

Martina Esposito

Lorenzo Maffei

Jib Ambhika Samsen

Nicola Ariutti

Sol Bekic

Matilde Davoli

Photography by

Lorenzo Palmieri

Video by

Domenico Palma