2015 Newsletter web (pdf 1.81mb)

News sPRING 2015
WE HAVE LIFT-OFF IN NEW
KAZAKHSTAN MUSEUM
Paragon Creative has just completed a £1.4 million project at the
new National Museum of Kazakhstan in Astana; at more than 74,000
square metres, the museum is one of the largest in the world.
we were commissioned to research, design and build and then install
a series of historic and archaeological models, figures and large scale
scenic exhibits. These included two large scale models of a stone Age
Botai House and a topographical model of the archaeological site at
Bes shatyr, plus three models showing the ancient scythian processes
of smelting and casting gold and finally a scale model of the Issyk
Tomb Kurgan.
The 1:1 scale scenic recreations included a full sized Medieval street
with shops, stocked with all the goods that would have been on
sale; a sectioned scythian Kurgan Tomb (20m L x 18m w); a large
gold mine set works including five mining figures (12m L x 4.6m
w x 5m H); a facsimile of a full sized wooden scythian chariot and
another full sized wooden riding chariot with two fully sculpted
horses. In addition we also built a third scale Proton Rocket which is
18 metres in length and a full scale Kazakh 2 Communication satellite.
The commission also included 13 life sized, fully modelled
archaeological human figures complete with hair and costumes;
many of which were covered with hundreds of pieces of gold
decoration. Five of the figures depicted Scythian gold miners
with tools and the other five depicted reconstructed ancient figures
and weapons from a series of archaeological tomb excavations.
The Museum building
Two of the ancient figures were mounted on horseback and
the commission included 8 sculpted and flocked full sized Kazakh
horses. Three further human figures were built by Paragon depicting
a typical Kazakh family from the 19th Century living in a Yurt; again
this included traditional costumes and equipment. Paragon also
made a full sized Bactrian camel (two humps) typical of those used
in Kazakhstan and a full sized sheep and goat; all covered in modelled
hair to look at realistic as possible.
TURN TO PAGES 8 & 9 FOR MORE PHOTOGRAPHS
STEGOSAURUS - NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Paragon Creative is proud to have produced the contemporary
display plinth on which stands the most complete stegosaurus
skeleton ever discovered. The dinosaur walked the earth around
150 million years ago and was discovered in 2003 in wyoming Us.
It now proudly stands on display at the Natural History Museum
in London.
Paragon’s design brief and challenge was to produce a plinth which
supported the Armature for the stegosaurus without the plinth
actually touching the Armature in any way, to eliminate any risk
of vibration or impact movement. we designed an independent
internal steel frame inside the outer plinth, which sits on bespoke
shock absorbent feet. The outer plinth then surrounds and covers
this inner plinth with no contact whatsoever. The outer plinth is
covered in two colours of solid surface with each contoured layer
CNC cut and thermo-formed to exact dimensions ensuring the
contours remain exact and even.
The whole plinth and Armature was then erected in our solid
surface workshop in York before being dismantled and shipped
down to the Natural History Museum and erected on site amid
tight security.
Also as part of the display we produced an Interpretation table,
again made from solid surface and incorporating replicas of the
stegosaurus supplied by Propshop and graphics and AV by the
Natural History Museum.
The discovery of the 360 bones making up the specimen makes
it the most complete stegosaurus specimen in the world.
Researchers at the museum are hoping that the stegosaurus
will allow them to learn a great deal more about this rare and
intriguing dinosaur.
Our Client: Natural History Museum
Designed by: Natural History Museum & Paragon Creative
OLYMPIC MUSEUM SUCCESS
The Olympic Museum, one of our biggest and most prestigious projects
to date, continues to experience strong success since it’s renovation.
In 2014 (the year of the sochi Games) the museum reached over
240,000 visitors, a huge increase when compared to 180,000 visitors
in 2010 (when the last winter Games took place before the renovation).
The Themed entertainment Association (TeA) recently held a conference
at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, as part of their sATe Academy Day
series of events around europe & the Middle east.
Paragon Creative’s project manager Adrian Milner was among the
speakers and he gave a fascinating talk about our work on this highly
successful and award-winning museum, covering all aspects of our
fit-out and the various issues that we encountered and overcame
along the way. Topics included: Re-assembling a tried and tested
team; pushing the design envelope; exploring and testing materials;
projection screen dilemmas; costing logistics; access issues and
statistics; framework and productisation. The event highlighted the
truly collaborative nature of the project and the importance of choosing
the right team to work together. The Olympic Museum has been our
largest and greatest project to date. we are honoured to have been
part of the team and were proud to show it off to our industry peers.
Adrian in action!
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IWM - FIRST WORLD WAR GALLERY
In summer 2014, IwM London launched the new permanent First world
war Galleries, as part of IwM London’s major redevelopment to mark
the centenary outbreak of the First world war. The chronology of the
First World War and how the conflict affected both those fighting abroad
from across the empire to the home front, is communicated through
a variety of multimedia and interactive exhibits, supporting a large
number and wide range of collection objects.
The various exhibits had to be 100% historically accurate as they were
frequently displayed next to the actual collection object. we produced
custom-made replica ‘try on’ uniforms as well as replica shells, canvas
backdrops and mining geophone interactives. The project underwent
many design changes which were managed through a change control
process, this combined with our drawing sign off, sample and prototyping
processes meant the changes were incorporated quickly and without issue.
Paragon Creative Ltd was commissioned as specialist Contractor to
complete the detail design development, fabrication and installation
of the interactives and models throughout the First world war Galleries.
Over a twelve month period our specialist teams were engaged on the
detail design and manufacture of 30 interactives, models and themed
props. Many of these required complex integration of hardware and
close liaison with the AV designers to ensure the exhibits coordinated
exactly with the software, for example, props which acted as ‘screens’
onto which images and videos were projected and interactive replicas
that contained audio sources.
Prince william has hailed the new First world war Galleries at the
Imperial war Museum as a ‘spectacular’ tribute to the courage and
dedication of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for
freedom. Touring the London landmark, originally opened by his own
great-great grandfather, King George V, in 1920, the Prince said the
exhibition vividly brought home the brutal realities of the war and
demonstrated why the conflict is still relevant today.
Soldier projection screen
Interactive camera viewer
Our Client: Imperial war Museum London
Designed by: Casson Mann
AL JABER
Paragon Creative is currently working with our client MAK
Construction on the Kuwait Oil Company Visitor Centre, situated
in Al Ahmadi Garden City and named after the late sheikh
Ahkmad Al-Jaber Al-sabah. The project aims to tell the story
of oil exploration in Kuwait and the incredible stories relating to
oil production in the region. Paragon Creative has been commissioned
to create a series of high tech interactive exhibits to demonstrate
the processes of oil production in Kuwait.
Our work consists of a large interactive demonstrating how to
correctly fill an oil tanker, three huge animated displays showing
the massive drill heads and how they work when drilling for oil, as
well as an exhibit called ‘Trapping the Oil’. Paragon has also created an
Oil Refinery model which will be incorporated into a large ‘Pepper’s Ghost’
effect with spectacular results.The project is due to be completed in 2015.
Motorised drill head model in production
Static setworks model
Our Client: MAK Construction
Designed by: event Communications
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ORBITING AT THE SCIENCE MUSEUM – SATELLITE MODELS
Paragon was commissioned by the science Museum in London
to research, design and build five fully detailed collection models
of historically important communication satellites.
The models formed part of the Information Age: six Networks That
Changed Our world; it’s most recent and largest gallery project, which
opened in October 2014.
Two of models included a full scale ‘GPs IIF’ satellite, which forms
part of the GPs constellation of satellites transmitting signals to
earth and a full scale Intelsat 1 ‘early Bird’ satellite, which was the
first commercial telecommunications satellite launched into space.
Model of GPS satellite
The three reduced scale models depicted ‘Courier 1B’ which was the
world’s first active repeater satellite; ‘Galileo IOV’ which is a global
navigation satellite system built by the european space Agency to
provide navigation information to european nations independently
from USA’s GPS system and finally ‘World View 2’ which is an Earth
Observation satellite, which can provide high quality and highly
accurate satellite imagery and spectral data and is used by Google earth.
All five models were made from acrylic and urethane, complete
with laser cut steel and spray paint detail finishes where necessary.
Our Client: science Museum, London
Designed by: Paragon Creative
Model of Galileo navigation satellite
SHOE HEAvEN, HARRODS, ZAHA HADID AND US
In August 2014 Harrods opened its new department called shoe
Heaven which covers a sprawling 42,000 square feet of retailing
where there are over 50 exclusive brands, many showcased in their
own custom-built spaces. Continuing the theme of heavenly bodies,
37 designers have added a special touch of silver to their designs for
the exclusive silver Lining collection. shoe designers involved in the
project include Valentino, Prada, Alaia and Dior, with pieces ranging
from full-on futurism to a more delicate silvery sheen. One of the
designers, stuart weitzman, commissioned the architect Zaha Hadid
to design a sculptural installation centred on her characteristic forms
to display his shoes.
Paragon Creative’s commission was to detail design, build and install
a centre piece shelving unit to display some of the stuart weitzman
shoe collection and to create a separate till wrap area within the retail
space. The shoe unit was created from moulded fibreglass and was
finished in rose gold. It included an integral lighting scheme using LED’s
which Paragon’s electronics team designed and then installed the
fittings. The till wrap area was finished in white Corian and included
cable management channels to house the till, phone and credit card
point. The commission also included a series of stuart weitzman
branded illuminated signs which are positioned around the retail space.
Our Client: Zaha Hadid
Designed by: Zaha Hadid
Preparation in our setworks workshop
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The completed installation
LOOkOUT FROM THE CLIFF TOP – AT DOvER
To help commemorate the centenary of the First world war, english
Heritage has commissioned Paragon Creative to work on its new
exhibition Fortress Dover and the First world war.
The exhibition will be located within the historic Fire Command Post
and Port war signal station which is located at the southern limit
of the grounds of Dover Castle and is set hundreds of feet above
sea-level on the edge of the white Cliffs of Dover; overlooking the
harbour and straits of Dover beyond.
The £100,000 exhibition will help to enhance the understanding amongst
visitors of Dover Castle’s role in the First world war and explains how
the building was used by both the Royal Navy and the Army during
this period. Visitors will also be able to learn about the techniques used
to detect enemy ships and aircraft and try their hand at Morse code.
Our Client: english Heritage
Designed by: Designmap
Dover Castle
UP, UP AND AWAY WITH CHLOÉ
Our team at Paragon is well practiced at creating environments that tell
stories in museums, theme parks and heritage centres. But sometimes
a well-known brand wishes to tell its story through a unique physical
object. The most recent example is the global beauty products company
Coty, who challenged Fieldwork Design Consultants to create promotional
animated hot-air balloons to advertise their prestige brand Chloé.
The brief called for a display with a single balloon that rose into the air,
spun slowly around then sank back down again, and another with three
balloons rotating at different speeds and directions. The mechanisms
were first prototyped by us before being developed in SolidWorks.
The drive geometry was designed to minimize strain on the motors
whilst allowing sufficient clearance between the moving parts. With
the Paragon engineering design complete and approved by Fieldwork,
the process moved to manufacture. This involved joinery, solid surfacing,
engineering, fabrication & electronics. The mechanical systems were
assembled and soak tested prior to being installed in their cabinets.
The high expectations of the client meant that both the solid surfacing
and brass-work had to be finished to the highest levels with many hours
of work spent in polishing the brass to a mirror finish. The balloons
debuted at the TFwA world exhibition in Cannes. This was followed
by more balloons, in time for a series of Christmas promotions at top
european Airports at Heathrow T5, Frankfurt, Madrid, Charles de Gaulle
(2 terminals) and Istanbul. They continue to fly round the world!
Our Client: Fieldwork Design Consultants & Coty Prestige
Designed by: Fieldwork Design Consultants & Paragon Creative Ltd.
The display in Cannes
SOFT PLAY INSTALLED IN UkRAINE
Paragon Licensing, our products and distribution division which aims
to distribute exciting and unique attraction concepts and products to
leisure operators worldwide, has successfully completed installing a
Yu Kids soft play system into the Art Mall in Kiev, Ukraine.
The 345m2 (3713.5sq ft.) play area consists of 15 unique and
attractive play elements, which feature water and light effects
as well as moving parts.
The new soft play is sure to be attractive and dynamic addition to the
Mall’s leisure facilities whilst also being the first soft play of its kind to
be installed in the region.
The Ukraine installation
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UPSY DAISY AT MEDIA CITY
Paragon Creative is proud to have produced another
large scale GRP figure for the BBC.
Upsy Daisy is one of the popular characters starring
in the BBC Children’s television series, In The Night
Garden, broadcast on CBeebies and is aimed at
children aged 0-6.
Upsy Daisy is similar to a rag doll, with a chime in
her tummy and brightly coloured clothes. she likes
skipping through the garden and blowing kisses to
the other characters. Her hair stands on end when
surprised and her skirt inflates to a tutu when she
dances. Upsy Daisy will live at MediaCityUK in
salford, the BBC’s home in the North of england.
Our Client: Laura sullivan – BBC
Designed by: BBC
Final workshop touches
Arrival in MediaCity
ATHENS FEC AGREEMENT WITH LAMDA
Paragon has signed a letter of Intent and have now commenced
work on a major project with Lamda Development in Athens.
Lamda Development s.A., listed on the main market of the
Athens exchange, is a holding company specialising in the
development, investment and management of real estate in Greece
and south-eastern europe. The company is the leader in the Retail Real
Estate sector in Greece with successful diversification in the office and
residential sectors in Greece as well as in other european countries.
The company’s development portfolio includes: three commercial
and leisure centers, The Mall Athens and Golden Hall in Athens
and Mediterranean Cosmos in Thessaloniki, innovative residential
complexes, office buildings and Flisvos Marina in Faliro. The
company has also been declared by the board of HRADF as
the preferred investor for the acquisition of 100% shares
in Helliniko sA. The company is part of the Latsis Group.
The LOI has commenced with the pre build phase which consists
of master planning and design. This £6.65m design and fit out project
consists of multiple leisure and attraction concepts.
Paragon is proud and excited to be working with this great
company to bring exciting Leisure concepts to Athens.
we will release more news as the project develops further.
Our Client: Lamda Development sA
Designed by: Paragon entertainment
The interior of the Mall
Golden Hall exterior
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NEW BELGIAN TRAIN MUSEUM
we are currently working for Potteau Labo on the scenography
contract of Train world in Brussels.
This new Belgian National Rail Museum will open its doors in
2015. The 8,000 m2 museum will stand next to the station’s
historic concourse dating from 1913. It will pay tribute to the rich
history of the train in Belgium. The first railway line in continental
europe was opened in 1835 between Mechelen and Brussels, the
world’s first capital city to be served by train.
The famous artist, illustrator, designer and scenographer François
schuiten has devised the displays for the future museum together
with the Brussels design company expoduo. ‘we will try to bring
the machinery alive at Train world, and to make this place as
magical as possible,’ he commented.
The sNCB/NBMs Group has invested 20.5 million euros in
the project, and hopes to attract 100,000 visitors per year
from its third year of operations onwards.
One of the many engines being installed
Potteau Labo are market leaders in the field of laboratory
furniture, interior fit- out of hotels, museums and exhibitions.
Our Paragon workscope includes scenery, props, dioramas,
figurative, set dressing and interactives.
Our scenographic team has recently sprayed cementitious plaster
on site, applying over 92,000 individual pieces of ballast around
three engines in one of the main galleries.
Our Client: sNCB/NBMs Group
Designed by: expoduo and Francois schuiten
Our Paragon site team
HILO LAUNCHES AT GULLIvERS
Gulliver’s Theme Parks has launched the worlds first
Hilo Challenge Dome at its Milton Keynes theme park,
after collaborating with Paragon entertainment’s licensing
division to design, build and install the innovative attraction.
Originally from Michigan UsA, the Hilo Challenge Dome is
an active and fun attraction that is set to reshape the future
of challenge courses. The structure of the dome is geodesic,
giving it unparalleled strength; fantastic energy efficiency
and creating a unique atmosphere to make the perfect
all weather low cost attraction for FeC’s play centres and
visitor attractions worldwide. The high ropes courses within
the domes consist of a variety of exciting and challenging
elements for an adrenaline-fuelled experience that is fun,
repeatable and safe. Paragon entertainment’s Licensing
division has exclusive rights to distribute and install the
domes in the United Kingdom, eU, Africa and Turkey.
The dome sizes range from 16ft to over 70ft and thanks to it’s
multipurpose function and completely customisable covers,
means that a challenge course can exist above a service area,
retail or F&B offering, making the most of the space. Add
in a completely customisable cover, then the Hilo becomes
the ultimate contained all weather attraction housing.
Paragon entertainment’s licensing division has previously
collaborated with Gulliver’s Theme Parks to bring a range of
Nerf branded attractions to each of their three theme parks
in warrington, Milton Keynes and Matlock Bath.
The Hilo Dome
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THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF kAZAkHSTAN, ASTANA
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1 The Goldmine Diorama 2 The Proton Rocket 3 Smelting Model detail 4 The Botai House model
5 Paragon prop-making studio 6 Painting the detail 7 Final touches to the Camel
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8 The Berel Horses 9 One of the Chariots 10 The Taldy 2 figure 11 Preparing the gold decoration
12 Working on the rocket booster section 13 The Yurt woman 14 Building the Medieval Street
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GLASGOW HOSPITAL
The Outpatients Atrium
Paragon Creative was commissioned by the Glasgow science Centre
to develop and install a set of hands on interactives and bespoke
seating for a permanent exhibition in the Outpatients Atrium, Imaging
and Diagnostics Department and the emergency Department waiting
areas of the new southern General Children’s Hospital. The project was
conceived to improve the patient’s journey, through the creation of an
ambient environment that encourages play and distraction for children
waiting in the hospital and their carers.
Paragon developed a set of self-contained interactive wall modules,
which needed to be durable and compliant with infection control
requirements as well as a set of immersive, multi-sensory interactive
pods. An exciting set of hands on interactives was also created
including two interactive bubble walls. This exciting new interactive
exhibition will aim to make waiting within the hospital a stimulating
and reassuring experience for both the children and their carers.
Our Client: Glasgow science Centre
Designed by: Paragon Creative and Glasgow science Centre
Interactive Bubble Wall
Ball run interactive in construction
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ROCkET TRAIN
An apprentice engine driver
we were commissioned to design and build an interactive children’s
activity based around Robert stephenson’s iconic “Rocket” locomotive.
The idea was to engage children by giving them the opportunity to
construct the locomotive and sit in the ‘driver’s seat’ when complete.
Drawing on the experience we gained from the successful “Build
A Track” interactive which we built for the NRM’s education facility
last year, we utilised the same High Density Polyethylene (HDPe)
material, only this time we pushed the boundaries of what can be
achieved with the materials and construction methods much further!
Due to the size and shape of several of the removable sections,
we had to be mindful of not only functionality and durability,
but also the weight and general mass of each item in order to
optimise their safe usability by children. To this end we employed
the use of lightweight, yet robust, foam to maintain structure
whilst minimising weight. The “Build the Rocket” and the “Build A Track”
interactives have proved hugely successful and we’re keen to
develop this concept further and apply it to cars, trucks… who
knows what else!
Our Client: National Railway Museum
Designed by: Paragon Creative
THE NURSE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
Paragon Creative is currently working on an exhibition which tells
the story of the Royal Navy’s Bighi Hospital which is located on Malta.
For 140 years, the hospital provided a crucial medical service for the
British and allied forces in this strategic location in the middle
of the Mediterranean.
The £80,000 exhibition forms part of Malta’s first National Interactive
science Centre which will occupy the historic hospital complex, once
the buildings are restored. It is located in the historic Cot Lift building
which is positioned on top of a cliff overlooking the Grand Harbour,
once home to the British Mediterranean Fleet.
The Cot Lift is a historic lift designed to take wounded sailors and
soldiers from the ships moored in the harbour below, up to the
hospital above. The lift is being upgraded to allow visitors arriving
from cruise ships to access the science Centre and its exhibitions.
Our Client: The Malta Council for science and Technology
Designed by: Design Map
The Cot Lift and the Bighi Hospital
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PORTSMOUTH BOATHOUSE 4
Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust has appointed Paragon
Creative to undertake a £0.5m exhibition that will form part of the
Boathouse 4 project. The Boathouse 4 project is the refurbishment of
a 1930s industrial building to create a Boatbuilding and Heritage skills
Training Centre, exhibition and Café.
The restoration of Boathouse 4 as a Heritage skills Centre will create
a completely new type of visitor experience at the Dockyard and act
as the catalyst for far greater engagement and participation with the
local community and local businesses, including other organisations
working in the traditional craft skills sector.
The centre, due to open in summer 2015, will house a Paragon
Creative design developed and built hands on exhibition about
small naval craft and a fantastic display of boats.
The project, which will cost £5.5m in total, has received funding
from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Regional Growth Fund as
well as generous donations from private foundations.
Our Client: Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust
Designed by: Real studios
Portsmouth historic dockyard
FLOCkING TECHNIqUES AT PARAGON
As part of our broad skill base, Paragon Creative now offers
the ability to create anatomically correct full scale models
of any short haired animal using realistic flocking techniques
to create the hair on the animals hide. Flocking is when real
or synthetic animal hair can be applied using an electrical charge
to capture and align each hair prior to gluing it in place on the
cast animal form. This technique allows realistic layers of hair to
be built up to create an accurate representation of an animal’s hide.
Previously it was only possible for Paragon Creative to provide
realistic hair on models for animals with longer, rougher hair
such as sheep, camels, highland cattle and some of the larger
apes. Animals with short, smooth hair such as horses were
modelled and then cast using GRP (glass re-inforced plastic) and
then the hide of the animal was then painted onto the cast with
any long haired elements such as manes or tails added separately.
Preparing a Horse prototype
The Kazakh Horse enjoying himself before installation
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We are proud to announce our first commission using this
technique; which is a full sized replica of a Kazakh black horse for
the National Museum of Kazakhstan. The horse is part of a full
sized setwork depicting scene of a family living in a Yurt on the
Kazakh steppe. The commission included Paragon building and
installing a cow, a sheep, a cart and a goat plus three members
a family all wearing traditional clothing from the 19th Century.
Orang-utan head
LANDSCAPING THE LAND OF THE LIONS
A visual showing the Lions enclosure
Paragon Creative has been contracted to help with the creation
of a brand new Asiatic lion enclosure at ZsL London Zoo. Land of
the Lions, which will open in Spring 2016, will be home to Asiatic
lions and the landscaping of the enclosure will be designed to mimic
the lions’ wild habitat of the Gir Forest in India which is home to the
last remaining wild population of the critically endangered big cats.
closely humans and lions live in the Gir Forest, with glimpses of the
lions’ habitat appearing throughout a bustling Indian village setting.
Our teams will create both rock and stonework work as part
of exhibit layout including sourcing and providing theming and
props to help make the environments immersive and engaging
for the public.
Giving Zoo visitors the chance to get up-close with the impressive
predators, guests at Land of the Lions will be able to see just how
Our Client: Zoological society of London
Architecture: Ray Hole Architects
RECONSTRUCTING THE PAST – AT CHICHESTER
The Novium is Chichester District’s museum and tourist information
service and covers over 500,000 years of local history. The museum
is housed in a new building designed to display the remains of
Chichester’s Roman Bath house, which is located on the ground
floor. These remains are one of the most significant Roman finds in
Chichester and include two excavated caldaria - hot rooms.
The full site excavations revealed that the baths were a massive
complex - estimated to have been 5,500 square metres or the size of a
small football pitch. However experts still do not fully understand what
the building looked like and the museum’s education team wanted an
exhibit to explain a typical Roman baths building to their younger visitors.
Paragon Creative is proud to announce that it was commissioned to
produce an interactive puzzle model of a typical Roman bathhouse
of the type that might have formed part of the Roman settlement of
Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester). The model was designed and
built on a wheeled plinth (1700L x 900w x 1200H) so that it can
be moved around the museum. On the top of the plinth there is
a recessed graphic panel showing the plan of the Roman baths and
text asking visitors to rebuild the bath house. The model itself is made
up of a series of individual three dimensional printed modular parts,
each representing a section of the building. These building parts are
designed to be placed on the plan so that a visitor can build the bath
house building. The plinth has a recessed shelf placed within its side
that allows the building parts to be stored when they are not being used.
The model and plinth
Our Client: Novium, Chichester
Designed by: Paragon Creative
Detail of buildings
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RUDSTON HERITAGE MODEL
The display gallery
The Rudston Heritage Centre, in the north aisle of All saints Church,
provides a range of resources for people to better understand the
history of the village of Rudston.
Paragon was commissioned to produce 3D model of the
village with LeD lights to indicate the location of key points of
interest and graphic wall panels giving an overview of the history
of Rudston through millennia. The model was researched,
designed, built and installed by the Paragon Creative team.
Our Client: Rudston Heritage Centre
Designed by: Paragon Creative
A detail in the model
MAYAS: REvELATION OF AN ENDLESS TIME
Paragon Creative is delighted to be working with National Museums
Liverpool on the fit out of the major temporary exhibition, Mayas:
Revelation of an Endless Time, which opens at world Museum,
Liverpool on 19 June 2015. The exhibition looks back through time
to the Mesoamerican civilisation of the ancient Mayas, whose
kingdoms stretched from eastern Mexico to modern day Guatemala,
Belize and into western Honduras and el salvador, from 1000BC – AD
1542. There will be 385 objects on display in the exhibition, including
striking sculptures and funerary masks to intricate gold and sacred jade
jewellery, from museums and historical sites in Mexico. It has been
developed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH)
in Mexico. It is part of the 2015 ‘Year of Mexico in the United Kingdom’
and ‘Year of the United Kingdom in Mexico’.
The exhibition, which will run until 18 October, is located in the temporary
exhibition gallery at world Museum, Liverpool, covering an area of 1200 sqm.
Our Client: National Museums Liverpool
Designed by: National Museums Liverpool & Paragon Creative
GMFRS SAFETY CENTRE
Paragon Creative is currently working for Kier with Greater
Manchester Fire and Rescue service to develop their new
facility in Bury into a fully functional fire brigade training
centre as well as a fully themed fire and safety awareness
skills centre.
It is primarily aimed at Key stage 2 school children with the
option for whole family refresher skills outside school hours
and term time visitors will also be able to view the fire
service carrying out training and demonstrations at the facility.
The site is intended to be open in summer 2016.
Paragon has designed a layout, which includes a series of
themed environments intended to replicate everyday scenarios
in the home and street, with the aim to highlight the dangers
present and how to spot them and avoid any consequences.
This is all carried out through immersive role play, interactive
media and professional guidance by trained fire fighting guides.
Paragon has previously worked on Life skills centres around
the country such as skillZone (Gloucester) And Danger Point
(North wales) and look forward to developing the next stage
of the project with Kier.
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Our Client: Kier Group
Designed by: Paragon Creative
PARAGON FAMILY GROWS
In June 2014 Paragon entered an agreement for representation in
the Middle east with Dubai based design and project management
company, Incorp Group.
The joint agreement will give Paragon increased access to businesses,
trades and materials in the region whilst Incorp will benefit from
Paragon’s sales, marketing and design & build expertise built up over
the last 25 years in museum, heritage and theme park projects
around the world.
sean Nicholson – Managing Director, Middle east at Incorp Group
brings with him an in-depth knowledge of the region as well as
a wealth of experience in the construction industry and stated
“Paragon’s success in the Middle-east is proven by the high quality
projects it has been commissioned to work on. we look forward to
working with the team at Paragon and are confident the partnership will
boost growth for both parties in the GCC.”
Ola Awodipe
Sean Nicholson
we also welcome Ola Awodipe to the extended Paragon family.
Ola is now representing the Paragon group in Nigeria where she will
be offering our products and services to an increasingly prosperous
market Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country with a growing
middle class and strong demand for sophisticated leisure and retail
experiences. Commercial development is on the increase and this
provides a great Opportunity for the Paragon entertainment group.
Other recent additions to the Paragon family include David McRae –
our Graphic Designer and studio Manager who joined in 2014. David
brings a wealth of design, branding and creative experience to the team
and will be overseeing the day to day running of the studio.
Patrick Rufus joined Paragon Creative as Head of estimating in January
2015 and brings with him over 25 year’s experience estimating in the
Museums and exhibition industry.
David McRae
Patrick Rufus
STEPHEN JACkSON
stephen Jackson retired in March this year after 27 years with our
companies. stephen graduated from the Rose Bruford College of
speech and Drama in 1975 after gaining a Diploma in stage
Management and Technical Theatre studies and developed his
career in stage and Production management during 13 years of
senior positions in repertory theatres in scotland.
He has worked in the Museums and Heritage Industry since 1988
when he joined Heritage Projects after being asked by Colin Pyrah,
then Project Director of Heritage, to manage the installation of The
scotch whisky Heritage Centre in edinburgh, which also started a
friendship with Colin that has lasted for over a quarter of a century.
He moved to York to manage the production workshop facility of
Heritage Projects and found his niche running a busy creative
scenic workshop facility. Along with Colin and Peter Donohoe,
he was a founder Director of scenic Route and for 14 years built
on his experience to create a very successful business and complete
many hundreds of projects.
and effective environment possible. stephen has contributed greatly
to the success of our company, and his achievements will not be
forgotten. we wish him the very best in the next steps of his journey.
Stephens’s role will be filled by the appointment of two new key
positions within Paragon. Jon Myers will be undertaking the role
of Production Manager and will head up and control the organisation
of the production department, managing construction coordination
between design and our various specialist in-house departments.
Jon will be ably assisted by Dave Johnson. Dave has been with
Paragon in various capacities and roles for the last 30 years and will
be returning to us full time in the role of Assistant Production Manager.
He will manage the office administration, programming, estimating
and assist with Production Management.
In 2006 Stephen and Colin joined Peter Holdsworth and Mark Pyrah
and merged scenic Route with Paragon Creative, to form a company
that could, under one roof, tackle any aspect of a creative project for
a Museum, exhibition or Family entertainment Centre.
As Production Director of Paragon Creative Ltd., stephen has been
involved in some truly ground-breaking projects. The Titanic Museum
in Belfast, The Robert Burns Memorial Museum, eureka Children’s
Museum, The Istanbul Aquarium, The Olympic Museum in Lausanne,
the Cairo Children’s Museum and the National Museum of Kazakhstan
are among the highlights of his career. His main love is and always has
been working with and managing creative and imaginative people
and providing the fuel they need in terms of advice, information and
materials to enable them to do what they do best in the most efficient
Stephen (left) with Mark Pyrah
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MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
Paragon Creative has designed, built, installed and maintained
Interactive and AV based exhibits around the world for over 25 years.
But did you know we also have an on the road maintenance team
dedicated to keeping your exhibits ‘interactive’ rather than ‘out of order’?
Through regular maintenance inspections, servicing and replacement of
minor parts, the life span of exhibits can be increased and downtime
kept to a minimum.
Regular preventative maintenance of exhibits is essential and will lead to:
Increased life of exhibits, reducing replacement costs
• and
down time.
Increased Health & safety duty of care – by undertaking regular
• reported
and actioned maintenance visits, your attraction becomes
a safer environment.
• Increased audience satisfaction and Increased repeat visits and revenue.
Our team of Interactive Maintenance engineers are time-served
Industry professionals, who fully understand the design, build
and maintenance of electro mechanical and AV based interactives
of any shape, size, orientation or complexity. We can offer flexible
solutions to suit your requirements, from one off visits, to assess or
repair specific items, through to fully serviced Annual Maintenance
Contracts. To discuss suitable options for your Museum or Attraction,
please call or e-mail for a quotation.
STUDENT LINkS WITH THE UNIvERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
For the last five years design professor Tim McNeil from the University
of California has visited Paragon Creative with a group of 30 students.
each July his study abroad program “Design in Britain” spends four
weeks in the U.K. researching and completing exhibition design
related assignments, and visiting museums and professional design
studios and facilities.
Two of those weeks are spent in the city of York and Paragon Creative
is a highlight visit during this time. The full service exhibition design
and fabrication experience that Paragon offers is an excellent way
to educate students about the exhibition process- starting with the
design phase and moving through all of the production, construction
and installation phases.
Professor McNeil cites the calibre of work at Paragon and the full range
of exhibition production as a differentiator, and the reason why over
120 students have consistently rated the visit to Paragon as one of their
most rewarding field trips. McNeil also attributes the success of the
student experience to the passionate and skilled staff at Paragon, and
the infectious enthusiasm of stephen Jackson and his colleagues.
Presenting to the students
Paragon Creative Limited is owned by Paragon entertainment Limited, a company listed on
London’s Alternative Investment Market.
For further information about our range of services please contact us: Paragon Creative,
Unit 8, Harrier Court, Airfield Business Park, Elvington, York, YO41 4EA, England
Tel: 01904 608020 web: www.paragon-creative.co.uk email: [email protected]
Keep in touch with Paragon by liking us on our Facebook page:
/ParagonCreative or follow us on twitter: @ParagonCreative
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