HERITAGE
Precious objects linked to Stonehenge (above), and found on or near the ancient site, are on show for the first time. Many artefects are on loan from local museums
Alisdair Hinshelwood
Director, Haley Sharpe Design visitor centre designer
How did Haley Sharpe Design come to be involved in the Stonehenge project? Through a competitive creative tender issued by English Heritage in 2009.
What was your brief? To work with EH to find ways to express the importance of Stonehenge in its wider historical, cultural and landscape context, and to create a step-change in the way in which visitors experience this significant World Heritage Site.
How have you told the Stonehenge story? We’ve recreated past landscapes through virtual technology, presented differ- ing perspectives on the meaning of the Stones, and brought real archaeologi- cal objects back to the site that express human presence during the prehistoric
1998
EH chair, Sir Jocelyn Stevens, makes another EH attempt at launching a Stonehenge Masterplan, including plans for a 2km cut-and-cover tunnel for the A303 and visitor centre at Countess East
period, when Stonehenge was of most importance to our ancestors.
What are the most striking features of the centre? One of its most compelling features is the 360-degree interactive theatre. Everybody wants to stand in the middle of the Stones, but clearly because of the problems with erosion, it’s never been possible for all visitors. Through tech- nology, visitors are now able to do this realistically in the digital theatre. EH commissioned a digital scan of the
Stones some years ago – showing them in minute detail – so we had a valuable, ready-made asset when we appointed the software company Centre Screen to develop AV for the theatre. Visitors can now travel back in time to experience three key periods of human activity at Stonehenge, and see it in all four seasons.
How long does the experience take? It’s been designed so that visitors don’t have to go through the centre at all – they may simply choose to go directly to
2000 – 2003 Under chair Sir Neil Cossons, EH pushes forward a scheme at Countess East and improvements to the A303 involving a bored tunnel.
52
2004 After a public inquiry, Dept of Transport announces A303 tunnel will be adopted
The new centre is expecting around 1.25 million visitors in 2014
the Stones. Once they are at the centre, our brief was to create a space where the key messages of Stonehenge could be distilled into a 15-minute visitor expe- rience – simply to manage the large volume of people who visit the ancient site each year. So we had to simplify messages and make them high impact. Of course, visitors can spend as long as they want in the space.
What were the main challenges? Dealing with the conditioning require- ments in a BREEAM-rated building and planning a narrative that delivered the key messages within the context of the visitor profile and numbers.
Will visitors see any ‘firsts’? It’s the first time that prehistoric objects from Stonehenge and the surround- ing landscape have been displayed in the World Heritage site. There’s a huge amount of satisfaction in bringing these items (on loan from museums in Salisbury and Wiltshire) back to where they were left thousands of years ago. l
2004
Planning application submitted for a new, semi-subterranean visi- tor centre at Countess. Planning permission granted in March 2007
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
Dec 2007 Government announces cancellation of A303 tunnel scheme meaning visitor centre scheme must also be abandoned
AM 1 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014
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