The design of the interior and the installations are inspired by the short story “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall” by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1835. The story follows Hans Pfaall, a bankrupt bellows-mender from Rotterdam, who devises an ingenious plan to escape his creditors and his mundane existence. It is considered by many to be the first true science fiction story.

The concept of the installations is to take visitors on a journey from Rotterdam to the moon, inspired by Hans Pfaall’s fictional voyage. Hans Pfaall’s story involves constructing a hot air balloon and tricking his creditors into helping him inflate it before killing them in an explosion and taking off. The perilous 19-day balloon flight is described in detail, including Pfaall’s observations of Earth from space and his descent onto the moon’s volcanic surface. He encounters a city of strange, earless people and spends five years on the moon before longing to return to Rotterdam. The story is primarily presented as a letter from Hans Pfaall to the burgomaster of Rotterdam. In this letter, Pfaall offers information about his travel to the moon, the moon itself and its inhabitants in exchange for a pardon for the murders he committed before his departure. The letter is delivered by a strange dwarf, presumably a lunar inhabitant, who causes great excitement and confusion among the citizens of Rotterdam.

Poe demonstrates extraordinary scientific knowledge in the story, incorporating concepts of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. The tale is regarded as one of the early examples of the modern science fiction genre. It combines Poe’s passion for astronomy and literature, drawing influences from various scientific and literary works of the time.

Installations

The experience begins in the ground floor elevator, where mirrored walls create the illusion of infinite space. A circular “window” on the back wall initially shows a view of Rotterdam, but as the elevator ascends, it transforms into a “frame” through which visitors view their journey through the Earth’s atmosphere to the moon. The 32-second ride culminates with a view of the slowly rotating moon.

Exiting the elevator, visitors enter an observation deck and cocktail bar, where they encounter a telescope that allows them to experience Hans Pfaall’s story and a large, 2.5-meter diameter LED moon whose colour and shadow can be manipulated by visitors. A giant trackball connected to the moon allows visitors to playfully discover aspects of the moon, such as human-made objects, visualizations of heights, and the names of various mountains and valleys. Suspended between the 58th and 57th floor, is also a large-scale circular neon light, that uses a fragment from the book where Hans for the first time is very close to the moon, “The moon itself, in all its glory, lay beneath me.” 

After their visit, guests depart via the 57th floor. The hallway to the elevators features an analemma of 28 porcelain half-moons with crater-like glazes. The lighting on these half-moons interacts with the movement of people in the hallway, simulating the lunar cycle.