During the London 2012 Olympic Games, Mind the Gap was an information pavilion situated in Trafalgar Square. Every athlete talks about an experience or a feeling that could be defined as a moment of truth. This could be the moment on the track right before the gun shot, or right before a penalty kick or a whistle blow. It’s in this moment, a fraction of a second, when a decision has been made and there’s no turning back. We wanted visitors to the pavilion to experience this.

We created a space that forces the visitor to take a step into the unknown, embodying the point of no return where reality is distorted and time stops. We tried to create a space that captured the complex emotions of uncertainty, excitement and agitation. To capture it we created an elevated circular structure composed of five intertwined rings. A curtain of water falling from each ring, creating a threshold that visitors would have to cross, presenting each person with the challenge of taking a step into the unknown.

Once the threshold was been crossed, visitors found themselves in a sensory space completely different from the previous setting. The water acted as a filter that modified perception, heightened and altered the interior atmosphere; while they also acted as a projection screen for all the major sports events and highlights.