Interactive tufted rug for the Water Museum
A 'deep-pile animation’ about the Dutch Waterline.
How could you possibly keep your hands off such a soft tufted rug? Well, in this case, touching it is exactly the point. By interacting with it, you activate an audio story with light effects about the Dutch Waterline.
Touching allowed!
With your hand, you ‘fire up’ the cannon: BOOM! Attack!
Then a playful explanation begins, showing what was set in motion in the Dutch Waterline when Holland came under attack in the past. Where did the water come from? Which cities played an important role? And, of course: which areas could be flooded? Light effects bring the story to life.
Technology
We learned a lot from our earlier experiment with a tufted interface. In this version, we used fibre optics for the lighting and a Showmie (with a few extra components) to control everything.
And there is still plenty of good old-fashioned manual work involved: tufting, sawing, gluing, and making sure all the fibres stay neatly in place.
Tuft artist
The piece was designed in terms of shape and colour palette, and beautifully tufted in 100% wool by artist Emmeke Eijsbouts.
Water Power
The tufted piece was part of the family exhibition ‘Waterkracht’ at the Netherlands Water Museum. In this exhibition, visitors stepped into the world of the Dutch Waterlines: an ingenious system through which the Netherlands used water as a means of defence for centuries.
The exhibition ran from 4 July to 30 August 2026.
