Encounter in two worlds

We encounter Cyberhelvetia.ch in two different worlds: at the exhibition at the Arteplage Biel-Bienne and in the virtual city and Internet community Cy which has been online since February 2001.

Cyberhelvetia.ch is a game with realities, where the real and the virtual are thoroughly intermingled. First there’s the exhibition on Arteplage Biel-Bienne. This Cyberhelvetia could be taken for an open-air swimming pool. But, not everything is as it seems. And then there’s also a Cy, the internet city. That’s where the In.Cyders live, real people who have assumed fictitious identities on the net. They live out these identities, talk to each other and go to parties.

The exhibition

The Cyberhelvetia.ch pavilion is situated on the Forum of the Arteplage Biel-Bienne. Designed as a traditional Swiss bathing resort, its architecture symbolises a place where people meet and communicate. We think we have long since come to terms with digital technologies. Only upon closer inspection does it become bewilderingly clear just what a distorting effect virtualization has on our everyday lives. It’s exactly the same at Cyberhelvetia.ch. Behind the façade is a pool where you don’t plunge into water but into virtually expanded realities. And if you lie down on a recliner at the pool side or on one of the air mattresses floating on the water, you may experience some unusual contacts with other people – you may even know them from the Net, or from reality.

Cy the Internet community

Real people with imaginary identities live in a virtual city, and find new ways of living together in virtual space, in expanded reality. The people who live in Cy – In.Cyders – put on a virtual shell by adopting a make-believe name, choosing an avatar to act as their cyberspace presence, and getting themselves settled into a privé. Like any other community, Cy lives by communicating. In the virtual city there are many different ways of expressing yourself and interacting with others. In.Cyders send their avatars to chat, to debate, and to flirt at the Cy.Pool; The contacts in Cy are spontaneous, witty, verbally smart and full of life. Cy is multilingual, based on German, French, Italian and English.

Further information
www.3deluxe.de
www.mesodesign

Arteplage
Biel-Bienne

Visitor capacity per day
4'990

Total visitors
736'690

Partner
Crédit Suisse, Zurich www.credit-suisse.com 
Winterthur Versicherungen, Winterthur
Sun Microsystems (Schweiz) AG, Volketswil
Sunrise Communications AG, Zurich www.sunrise.ch 

Project idea
Belleville AG, Zurich www.belleville.ch 

Concept
Belleville AG (Christian Rintelen). Zurich www.belleville.ch 
3deluxe, Wiesbaden, Germany www.3deluxe.de

Project team Belleville AG
Martin Roth, Andreas Kohli, Andreas Hofer, Felix Schaad, Susanne Hofer 

Overall project management
In&Out (Martin Zwyssig), Zurich www.inout.ch 

Exhibition construction
Architecture
Glöggler Prevosti Architektur GmbH, Zug

Light
Dinnebier Licht, Berlin, Germany www.lichtlicht.de 

General contracting
Hector Egger Holzbau, Langenthal www.hector-egger.ch 

Scenography
3deluxe, Wiesbaden, Germany www.3deluxe.de

Project management
Christine Elbe

Interface design, programming, animation
MESO Digital Interiors GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany www.meso.design

Web design Vivarium
Screenbow Kommunikation & Medien, Wiesbaden, Germany www.scrrenbow.de

Sound design
Hagû Schmitz

Sound design CyBees
Ekkehard Ehlers

Photography
Emanuel Raab

Internet
Development, programming
Iogram AG, Zurich

System architecture, operation
In&Work, Zurich www.inwork.ch 

IT Security
In&Out, Zürich Zurich www.inout.ch 

Operation Fotobot
Belleville AG, Zurich www.belleville.ch 

Texts Cy
Claude Jaermann
Christoph Schuler
Christian Rintelen
Jan Zuppinger

Project management
Brigitte Geissmann

Project Communication
Concept and realisation
Ausserhaus GmbH, Zurich

Design
Fauxpas GmbH (Jasmina Inglin), Zurich

Support Credit Suisse Group
Ulrich Pfister (project responsibility)
Pius Knüsel (content)
Mira Song (guests & personnel)

Coaching Expo.02
Pidu Russek (head)
Jacqueline Rondelli-Leist

Operations management pavilion 
Nathanael Ha-Vinh (operations manager)
Roland Thiel (operations manager)
Marlene Zürcher (operations manager)
Mira Song (organisation personnel)

Guides
Claudia Achermann, Yvonne Acremann, Marcel Aegerter, Brigitte Aeschimann, Matthias Albin, Andre Albrecht, Peter Anderegg, Sibylle Anderegg, Gerhard Arnold, Marina Avanzini, Gerda Bächi, Silvia Balcar, Hans-Rudolf Balsiger, Urs Bamberger, lleana Battistella, Leana Battistella, Daniel Baumann, Anne-France Baume, Katja Beerli, Andreas Benz, Anja Bertschmann, Claudia Bingisser, Suzana Blagojevic, Peter Blatter, Sandra Bongni, Brigitte Bossert, Martina Bosshard, Laurence Bovet, Irene Brauchli, Paulette Brown, Anton Bürli, John Canciani, Hulda Cattini, Alessandra Cerreda, David Chaignat, Barbara Christen, Magdalena Christen, Deborah Cormetti, Laurence Corroy, Karin-Barabara Cotti, Sandra Crameri, Claudio Coccunato, Hedwig D'Agrosa, Giuseppina D'Angelo, Christina Demont, Caroline Drigatti, Florian Dünner, Christine Eberle, Leonie Eberle, Wolfgang Eberle, Martin Eggenschwiler, Nathalie Eggli, Marie-Therese Eichholzer, Andrea Eigenmann, Nadine Eller, Rachel Engeli, Manuela Erb, Monika Ernst, Verena Erzinger, Susanne Eschmann, Ursula Ettlin, Cédric Evard, Stephan Fernandez, Melanie Fischer, Syliva Fischer, Olivia Fraude, Nicole Frei, Ute Fritzen, Iris Fürst, Gacond André-Willy, Theresa Gardner, Marie-Therese Gattlen, Nadja Geiss, Alexandra Gerber, Johannes Gerber, Marcel Gerber, Susanne Gerber, Aldo Giovannoni, Ignacio Gonnet, Andrea Grigi, Isabelle Grosjean, Maya Grunder, Evelyne Grüninger, Nadine Gsell, Katja Guggisberg, Martina Guggisberg, Verena Gut, Beatrice Güttinger, Thomas Haberland, Franziska Hakimi-Tanne, Erik Haller, Manuela Heeb, Britta Hefti, Kathrin Heim, Hans Heinzer, Peter Helbling, Robert Hellmüller, Silke Hessel, Friedrich G. Hofer, Nicole Hofmann, Nina Hofstetter, Bruno Honegger, André Huber, Brigitte Huber, Mariette Hummel, Susanne Iseli, Michael Isler, Elisabeth Jaggi, Ramacan Jakir, Ursula Jaugitz, Patricia Johner, Gordana Josipovic, Sandra Kälin, Malgorzata Kaminski, Sybille Kaspar, Rosmarie Kern, Jan Kienast, Andrea Kistler, Simona Klauser, Anna Kohler, Beat Koneth, Michael Koschinsky, Werner Kräuchi, Christian Krauer, Andreas Krebs, Manuela Krebs, Rolf Kühn, Marcel Küpfer, Danka Lang, Andre Langenegger, Alexander Lang, Stefan Läuppi, Martin Lenggenhager, Andreas Leuenberger, Manuela Leuenberger, André Leuenegger, Remo Liebi, Janine List, Caroline Loetscher, Cornelia Lörtscher, Sandra Lötterle, Claudio LoVaglio, Ludmilla Mahon, Eveline Marti, Margrit Marti, Paolo Mazzanti, Karin Meek, Deborah Meier, Patrick Meier, Christoph Meury, Jean-Pierre Mivelaz, Christyane Moeri, Antonella Montesi, Lilian Moos, Monika Müller, Sladijana Nakic, Stefan Niffeler, René Nussbaumer, Frederic Nüssle, Esther Oberholzer, Cornelia Oberli, Natascha Obi, Henri Oeggerli, Monique Oldham, Pablo Olmos, Myriam Orler, Sigrid Papst, Alfonsa Pecoraro, Dominique Pernet, Claudia Pfannes, Gianluca Picano, Marco Piccoli, Marija Pintac, Martin Polloni, Caroline Portmann, Sandra Portmann, Olympia Prodromakis, Christian Ragatuso, Daniel Rau, Ursula Reber, Sonja Reckerzügl, Andrea Reusser, Desiree Rickert, Deanna Roberti, Pierre-Laurent Rochat, Tiziana Rodia, Andreas Rogner, Virginia Rohrer, Judith Rumasuglia, Esther Sadri, Bernhard Scherrer, Martin Scheuchzer, Stephan Scheurer, Regula Schild, Roland Schindelholz, Max Schäfli, Alexandra Schlatter, Sandra Schmid, Dominic Schmidt, Isabe Schorer, Raymond Schorer, Raoul Schüpbach, Sibylle Schuppli, Corinne Schwab, Rolf Schwab, Stéphanie Sierro, Björn Sonderegger, Karin Spirk, Angelika Staub, Ester Steiner, Susi Steiner, Simon Steinmeier, Richard Straub, Nicole Stuber, Hugo Studer, Stefan Studer, Luzia Stutz, Patrizia Tacconi, Samanta Tamburrino, Manfred Thoma, Michelina Toto, Mirjam Trachsler, Doris Tuor, Michaela Uher, Raquel Urena, Joel Vautier, Daniela Vogler, Predrag Vojinovic, Ursula Von Euw, Kerstin Wagner, Isabella Waldmeier, Silvia Waller, Stéphanie Warpelin, Cindy Weber, Daniel Weber, Fritz Weber, Nicole Weber, Christa Werren, Daniela Wettstein, Svea Widmer, Barbara Willi, Simon Peter Wirth, Erika Wittenwiler, Jolanda Wullschleger, Brigitta Wyss, Piera Wyss, Elvira Zach, Stefan Zangger, Corinne Zimmermann, Daniel Zimmermann, Marianne Zimmermann, Olivera Zivkovic, Andreas Zogg

Technical Operations
System Modern GmbH, Wiesbaden, Germany

Clothing concept personnel
Weder und Gut, Frauenfeld www.wederundgut.ch 

^{Photos: Press kit Cyberhelvetia.ch; DVD Generation.02; © Jürg Frei; © Andreas Mosimann; © Michael Studt; © Tom Weilenmann; © Philipp Zanatta; © Belleville AG; © Norbert Aepli Lizenz creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/deed.de
Video: © Andreas Hofer}