Centrica Langage Energy Centre – Discovery & Visitors Centre

THE CHALLENGE…

Centrica Langage Energy Centre, near Plymouth, opened in March 2010 and converts natural gas to supply energy to over one million homes in the South West.

As preferred contractor to Centrica Energy, Pyramid had been working on various AV projects within the new state of the art Langage Energy Centre when we were invited to realise the Discovery Centre Educational Facility.

The challenge presented to the designers Edge and Pyramid was to produce a fun, interactive and educational facility for school children between the ages of 7-15 years.

As award winning designers of visitor attractions Pyramid took creative agency Edge’s excellent design on paper to life, and as principle contractor we were charged with the design and build contractor for the project. We were responsible for the concept development, technical design leading to the physical build, providing numerous additions to the original design which included the lighting design, interactive games creation featuring bespoke video and animation, as well as the integration of all AV systems and controls.

THE SOLUTION…

We created specific zones for the kids to play, learn and interact.

We designed, developed and produced the interactive Play and Create Zone games as part of the overall project delivery, as well as the lighting, AV and control systems integration for the centre. This allowed us to use a mix of disciplines to fulfil the brief.

These involved;

• Bespoke physical construction and installation
• Control systems, lighting and electrical designs
• Complex control software development for the triggering of multiple control and lighting environments through physical interaction
• Creative use of flash animations that respond to varying time based environments and triggers

Interact Zone

The concept was to deliver an interactive game that involved some form of physical input from the young people and we developed the idea around a typical ‘life in a day’ scenario. The children race in teams on two bespoke ‘bikes’ that generate the energy which in turn interacts with the video showing their progress through LED energy bars and audio.

The teams split into four pairs and each pair race against each other as well as adding to the combined total power generated. This way we are able to keep a sense of fun and competition whilst presenting a challenge to each participant.

Once all the tasks have been completed the teams are presented with a total power generated, this is then related to the amount of power Langage Energy generates in one day.

Play Zone

The Play Game promotes fun and learning whilst taking part in a quiz that involves multiple choice answers with audio and video triggering.

Running on a Windows PC there are four games that have been developed with 20 questions each. Animations and audio clips have been mapped with lighting sequences that combine to create a fun and inclusive learning opportunity. Kids jump between the answers marked on the floor mat to choose their answer in time, and those with the wrong answers are eliminated at that point.

Listen & Create Zones

The Listen and Create Zones allow the school groups to learn about how a power station works and provides opportunity for quiet play on custom built PC stations with bespoke software.

Users can switch on all of the screens, games, lights and interactive systems with a few simple button presses for an easy to use experience

THE RESULT…

“Having worked with Nic and his team on a number of projects, I can honestly say they are a fantastic company with a very customer focused approach. Nic brings strong leadership and creative flare whilst keeping a clear focus on the practical approach to getting projects delivered to a high standard. I have and will continue to recommend them as a great partner for any business requiring the skill board set he offers.”

Simon Coburn – Senior Project Manager – Centrica

 

The Discovery Centre at Langage has been received by Centrica nationally as an exemplar of onsite community engagement and education. They are considering rolling out this concept across the seven Energy Centre’s in the UK.

Our approach to realising the brief involved innovative and creative thinking from our multi-skilled team. We are delighted to have been able to demonstrate our wide ranging in-house skills of concept, design and construction as well as the creation of physical games interaction using flash video animations, proprietary software development and control systems integration.

If you want to find out more about our commercial audio visual or lighting services then please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team!

About the author

Nic Black – Managing Director

Owner and Managing Director of The Pyramid Group. Senior consultant to key clients across EMEA as well as a CEDIA Award winning lighting designer and luxury cinema creator. CEDIA Awards Judge and CEDIA Outreach Instructor
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