2010

Spring 2009

MET Studio’s Lindsay Barchan chosen by DBA as a’ Bright Spark 2010’

MET Studio exhibition designer Lindsay Barchan has been selected by the DBA (Design Business Association) as one of eleven young designers to take part in the DBA’s ‘Bright Sparks’ programme for 2010. The scheme has been set up to allow the designers to benefit from the ‘insight, knowledge and experience’ of a group of design pioneers, via a series of masterclasses given over the course of the year. Lindsay was selected for the scheme after taking part in the DBA event, ’The Edge’, in December 09, where 16 design pioneers met with 130 young creatives from across the UK and Europe. Lindsay commented ’The Edge was an event which was really beneficial to me, because it enabled me to talk informally with our industry’s highest-calibre designers and creatives. Being selected as one of the ’Bright Sparks’ will now allow this great opportunity for communication and education to carry on. It’s a real privilege.’

 

2009

Winter 2009

MET Studio has designed a challenging, graphics-led exhibition called ‘Conflicts of Interest’ for Britain’s National Army Museum. The brief was to create a new temporary gallery, which would examine the last 30 years of major conflicts involving the British armed forces across the globe and the impact of these conflicts on forces personnel and their domestic lives. The approach was to consider multiple, first-hand perspectives from all levels of the British Army, in order to give voice to both the positive and more negative aspects of a soldier’s life.

Autumn 2009

The BugWorld Experience®, a brand new £3.8m visitor attraction that promises visitors the opportunity to get 'up close and personal' with the fascinating world of bugs, has now opened in a Grade-I listed building in Liverpool's Albert Dock. Leading American exhibit designers and fabricators Academy Studios were approached to help design and develop the exhibition and they then invited MET Studio on board. Under the joint venture name of MASi, MET Studio and Academy Studios subsequently won the pitch to design the 13,000 sq ft visitor experience in the Summer of 2008, joining a wider creative team on the project that also included Scottish interior designers Cubit3D; software designers AllofUs and film production company Centre Screen, who devised the main AV show within the attraction. 'The inspiration for the attraction came from a visit by RGI's founder Des Rogers to an insectarium in Canada', explained Alexandra Prescott, MET Studio's lead designer on the scheme. The resulting concept for a UK attraction is one where entertainment and education are finely balanced through a variety of engaging exhibits. There is much to be learnt at BugWorld about the world of bugs, but the emphasis is definitely on having fun in what is essentially a leisure rather than a museum experience.'

Summer 2009

MET Studio has completed a future-facing technology showcase called FusionWorld for A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research)'s Science and Engineering Council (SERC), at their corporate office at Fusionopolis@one-north in Singapore. MET Studio's role was as creative director and concept designer of the FusionWorld gallery, as well as overseeing design implementation, which was carried out by regional specialists Design Act Pte Ltd (with AV exhibits developed to MET Studio's specification by Multi Media People).

'Our brief', commented Fusion World's lead designer, MET Studio's Peter Karn, 'was to create a 'technology wonderland', where both public and corporate guests could book to attend a focused demonstration of the latest advances and achievements created by SERC and A*STAR.'  The gallery's content, therefore, had to be able to be understood by both a specialist and a lay audience.  'The result', explained Peter Karn, 'is a theatrical and layered inspirational teaser space, where showcase guides can go into as much or as little detail as they wish, showing prototypes where required or simply allowing the gallery's 'wow factor' to dominate.'

Summer 2009

MET Studio has been commissioned to design a major new series of galleries, collectively entitled 'The Maritime Experience', for the Netherlands Maritime Museum ('Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum') in the heart of Amsterdam's nautical district.  The museum is currently undergoing a large-scale renovation project, overseen by leading Dutch architects Atelier Zeinstra van der Pol, which seeks to restore the splendour of the original building.  A number of new gallery areas will also be created as part of this ambitious scheme, which offers over 200,000 visitors annually the possibility to discover and experience the maritime history and culture of this seafaring nation.  MET Studio - in a joint venture with Dutch contractor Hypsos and content specialists Tinker Imagineers - is responsible for four ground-floor rooms at the top right corner of the square building, framing the new courtyard space.   The £1m, 450 sq m project was won in a 5-way pitch against a number of leading Dutch and European consortia and is due to complete at the same time as the overall museum refurbishment in Spring 2010.

Spring 2009

MET Studio has completed the design of an exciting, new, immersive exhibition and experience for the world's most famous football club, Manchester United.  The Manchester United Experience is a  £1.5m, 1000 sq m indoor attraction, located within the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel in Macau. It is the first ever visitor attraction featuring the club to be opened outside of Manchester United's Old Trafford heartland (and Asia's only interactive football experience) and has been created to appeal to both fans and a lay audience alike.  'Our ambition in designing the space', commented MET Studio's Alexander McCuaig, head of graphics and AV on the project, 'was to create the most exciting and world-class football experience outside of actually watching the beautiful game live.' Visitors are taken through the highly interactive experience on a route, which covers everything from the earliest beginnings of the club to a real sense of what it means to support, play for and manage the world-class club of today. 

2008

Autumn 2008

MET Studio has formed a new joint venture company with Academy Studios in California called MASi.  The new company is developing its first project, The BugWorld Experience: an insectarium, which is scheduled to open at the Albert Docks in Liverpool, UK, in June 2009.

Spring 2008

MET Studio is proud to announce the royal opening of the Budongo Trail Chimpanzee exhibit by HRH The Princess Royal. MET Studio has worked in conjunction with The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and Cooper Cromar Architects over a two-year period to design and build this world class Chimpanzee enclosure. The exhibition focuses on the conservation effort currently taking place in the Budongo forest, Uganda, by introducing visitors to the tireless efforts being made in the preservation of our closest animal cousins.  The exhibit has already been billed as one of Europe’s leading zoological interpretational experiences.

“This is going to be setting an amazing new standard for British and European zoo interpretation.” (Stephen P Woollard, Education & Interpretation Manager, RZSS)

 

 

Spring 2008

Helmand, The Soldiers' Story at London's National Army Museum, has been nominated for The Art Fund Prize.  It is one of ten projects and institutions being considered for the £100,000 prize.  The exhibition, based on real experience by soldiers in Helmand, was contributed to by over 150 soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade, telling the story of their tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006.

 

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