Sysco Productions

BROOKLANDS MUSEUM: AIRCRAFT FACTORY AND RACETRACK REVIVAL

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THE STORY SPACE

Brooklands Museum is renowned as the Birthplace of British Motorsport & Aviation. Based in Weybridge, Surrey, Brooklands shares a unique story of how its pioneering design, engineering and manufacture transformed the way in which aircraft and vehicles were built, flown and raced. 

THE STORY ENGINEERING

At opposite ends of the hangar, mirrored intro and outro films are projected directly onto the bare corrugated walls serving as an impressive visual backdrop. The overlap of large scale looping video footage with the real-life surroundings brings a close connection between the archival recordings and the renovated hangar itself. The significance of the Bellman Hangar in the context of this exhibition is shared through Moving a Bellman Hangar, where timelapse footage displays it being dismantled, conserved and rebuilt.

Ceiling mounted speakers deliver an 8 channel audio soundscape which enriches the experience by layering bygone sounds of machinery, workers and air raids to mimic the mid 20th Century where Brooklands was at the peak of aviation production. Stories, facts and historical anecdotes are shared via multi channel audio stations, offering a greater realism and depth to the operations and manufacture undertaken at the workshop.

The Mezzanine Level provides a stunning birds eye view of the Loch Ness Wellington, whilst offering a new perspective of the aircraft propellers, wings and fuselages housed beneath. 42” touchscreen interactives encourage a more engaged relationship with the technical detail, mechanical functions and engineering genius of the exhibits on display. Visitors can learn more about the Principles of Flight and are given the opportunity to design a civil aircraft, military aircraft and future aircraft with the freedom to test their design in a virtual ‘airspace’.

The magnificent display of aircraft continues through to the Flight Shed where accompanying pilot tales and encounters are encased within multi channel audio stations. Also on display is an audio interactive which helps visitors examine morse code through the process of Decoding Morse.

WHAT THE CLIENT SAYS

Valerie Mills at Brooklands Museum commented ‘It was always our aim to produce an immersive factory experience that would both tell the stories of the aircraft factories at Brooklands and inspire young people in STEM subjects. The audiovisual elements, in particular the large projections and soundscape, help to bring the space in the restored Hangar to life, with the easy-to-use touchscreens on the mezzanine level enabling visitors to design their own civil or military aircraft.