Open House Activations
Inspiring activations for a new Plan for Victoria
The challenge
Planning can feel distant, technical or confusing to many Victorians—especially when it relates to long-term strategic visioning. The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), in collaboration with CoFutures, recognised the need to create engaging and tangible ways for people to understand, experience and contribute to the development of a new Plan for Victoria.
The challenge was to move beyond conventional engagement methods and design a public-facing experience that would spark curiosity, invite participation, and connect people emotionally and intellectually to planning for the state’s future.
What we did
CoFutures partnered with DTP and Open House Melbourne to design and deliver a suite of immersive and interactive activations as part of the 2024 Open House Melbourne weekend. These activities were developed as part of a broader engagement campaign but stood out for their creativity, accessibility and ability to draw people into the planning conversation. The activations included:
- Big Ideas Voting Wall: An eye-catching installation inviting people to vote on bold ideas for Victoria’s future using ping pong balls—making abstract priorities visible and countable.
- Love Letters to Victoria: A tactile activity where participants wrote heartfelt notes to the state, snapped Polaroids, and pinned them to a 3-metre-wide map of Victoria.
- Lego Planning Exhibition: A bespoke 3D art installation where Lego builds represented key planning challenges—from housing affordability and equity to design and infrastructure.
- Immersive Sound Wall: A curated audio experience where people could listen to young Victorians sharing their aspirations for the state’s future.
- Makers Hub: A hands-on station where visitors designed custom ‘I Love Victoria’ tote bags while learning about the draft Plan and how to get involved.
The installations were strategically designed to be playful yet thought-provoking, visually striking, and suitable for a wide range of ages and backgrounds.
Outcomes
Over 1,400 people engaged directly with the activations across the weekend. The program successfully sparked interest in strategic planning, reached new audiences—including young people and students—and significantly boosted participation at follow-up university and regional events. The suite of assets has since been adapted for use at DTP-led pop-ups in Ballarat, Shepparton and Warrnambool, as well as university and TAFE engagements—doubling participant interactions in those settings.
These creative tools not only expanded the reach of the Plan for Victoria but demonstrated how physical, immersive experiences can reshape how people connect with planning.
