How can an immersive room transform an industrial site into a sought-after destination, multiplying its visitor numbers fivefold? That's the successful bet made by Cooperl Environnement with "La Bulle" (The Bubble), a 50 m² immersive space inaugurated on June 24, 2022, in Lamballe, Brittany.
From presentations to educational experiences
The initial objective: find a more impactful tool to convey complex messages about energy — steam, biogas, circular economy — in a far more educational way than before. Cooperl Environnement invested 300 million euros over 30 years in environmental initiatives producing bioenergy, water treatment, and natural fertilizers. These massive industrial figures, such as the production of 100,000 tons of steam per year, needed to be made visual and understandable.
The concept: stepping into "The Bubble"
The name was chosen for its strong symbolism: inviting visitors to "step into the bubble" of the company to foster listening and attention. The 50 m² space is equipped with a 19-meter-wide curved panoramic screen displaying immersive content: videos, 3D animations, motion graphics, interviews, and spatialized audio. The narrative is organized around four elements — earth, water, air, and energy — to explain concretely how Cooperl transforms waste into biogas, biofuel, natural fertilizers, bio-CO2, heat, and clean water.
Tablet-based control
The key innovation: a complete system for creating, scripting, and controlling the entire infrastructure, managed via a tablet interface. This approach radically simplifies the handling of complex content and allows any team member to guide an immersive tour without any particular technical expertise.
A resounding success: visitor numbers multiplied by five
The impact exceeded all expectations. Before La Bulle, the site hosted one visit per week. Since its inauguration, it handles five per week. In one year, 1,700 visitors discovered the space. By 2025, the 7,000 visitor milestone was reached. Clients, institutions, schools, and the general public flock to experience the circular economy through immersion. The project leaders admit they "never imagined such enthusiasm."
"You made my dream come true: you managed to translate exactly what we had in mind, I've never seen anything like it in my life!" — Franck Porcher, Environment Director, Cooperl
A Breton consortium
The project is the result of a collective effort where each stakeholder contributed their part in a spirit of mutual listening. The consortium brings together complementary expertise, all based in Brittany:
- Mediapilote Saint-Brieuc: communications agency, storytelling, and editorial coordination
- Loops Integration Sound & Image (Saint-Brieuc): audiovisual infrastructure, curved screen, sound, and projection
- explorations360: immersive content creation and tablet-based control system
- BW Architectes: architectural design of the space
- SEQUENS Production: video production
Looking ahead: toward autonomy
Building on this success, the project doesn't stop here. Cooperl is working on a standalone version of the immersive experience. La Bulle also serves to anchor industry within its local territory, in connection with city networks and local gas injection points. A model for demystifying heavy industry through digital technology, replicable across other sectors.
