Sysco Productions

BLETCHLEY PARK’S LARGEST EVER PERMANENT EXHIBITION WILL SHOWCASE IMMERSIVE AND INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS INTEGRATED BY SYSCO PRODUCTIONS

Museum & Heritage

03/02/2022

Bletchley Park, an independent museum and heritage attraction is set to unveil their largest ever permanent exhibition in Spring 2022, bringing to life its historically significant story and revealing how the site fulfilled its potential as an intelligence organisation in the latter half of World War Two. Showcased in a newly restored wartime building, The Intelligence Factory will draw focus to a key part of Bletchley Park’s timeline that has never been explored in-depth on-site before.

Visitors will be taken on a journey that examines Bletchley Park at the height of conflict, exploring what life was like for the people working at the site and their involvement in converting a myriad of intercepted enemy communications into actionable intelligence for the Allies. 

Divided into different zones, the visitor experience will incorporate a variety of interpretive and immersive features including interactive exhibits, digital assets, objects, archival material and personal anecdotes that will share key events that took place at Bletchley Park between 1942 and 1945. Recognising and celebrating the successes of the war and those responsible, the exhibition draws attention to the remarkable employees that worked 24/7 on signals intelligence, deciphering enemy communications in order to provide the intelligence that ultimately helped win the war.

Visitors can also delve into what life was like at the peak of the action, from tracking positions of Allied and enemy vessels to handling vast quantities of information, and recruiting, feeding and housing thousands of staff. Furthermore, the exhibition will highlight the site’s legacy and its continuing relevance, from tackling cybercrime to supplying intelligence to soldiers in the field today. 

Sysco are privileged to work as part of the design team, led by Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), a multidisciplinary firm specialising in the planning and design of museums, exhibits, educational environments and visitor attractions. 

We are also delighted to now deliver the next phase of the project, as part of Marcon’s team, who will be completing the fit out works. Sysco Productions will be undertaking the integration of the audio visual design, ensuring a seamless narrative between the digital constructs and the historical artefacts. 

Iain Standen, CEO of Bletchley Park Trust commented: “We are delighted to announce another milestone in the ongoing development of Bletchley Park. The Intelligence Factory exhibition will tell a major part of the Bletchley Park story. It will take visitors from the cottage industry of the early days, when the Codebreakers worked in very basic huts, to it becoming the world’s first intelligence factory. This exhibition gives us the opportunity to present incredible stories and place the spotlight on some of the many people involved in them and do so in the place where they actually worked.”

Phillip Tefft, director of RAA London adds: “It is a privilege to be working on Bletchley Park’s largest exhibition to date. The Intelligence Factory will bring Block A to life by using media, sound and shadow to create a powerful sense of place and evoke the spirit of those who worked here in the latter half of WW2.
By activating Block A in this way, we will illuminate the monumental efforts made by Bletchley Park’s staff, including compelling stories of the men and women whose hard work and intelligence made such a huge impact, changed the course of history and heralded the technological world we live in today.”  

Mark O’Connor, Director at Marcon, states: “We are delighted to be working with RAA again and involved in such a well-known scheme. The impacts of the pandemic have caused delays to the opening of this iconic building, but now with all designs finalised we are delighted to be getting onto site. It will be fantastic to see this exhibition in use by the local community and visitors from around the globe.”

Tom Spooner, Head of Projects at Sysco Productions comments: “We’re incredibly proud to be working alongside partners RAA and Marcon, and are excited to have the opportunity to support them in bringing to life the significant history of this very important site. The AV interactives and immersive exhibits will play an integral role in the exhibition’s narrative, adding another layer to the interpretation and we’re looking forward to bringing these elements together to help spotlight the vital role of Bletchley Park during the Second World War.”

The new exhibition is scheduled to open to the public in April 2022.

Image Credit: Planning and Design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates

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