Historic Environment Scotland (HES) – Scotland’s lead public body charged with caring for, protecting and promoting the historic environment.
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The Engine Shed is Historic Environment Scotland’s (HES) dedicated building conservation center. This venue is a hub for cutting-edge digital innovation and heritage science. As an accredited training center, it delivers dynamic training and learning events that allow people to delve into the knowledge, skills and materials that make up Scotland's built heritage.
HES wanted a solution that used technology to create an authentic experience that enhances their training and events, plus fully utilizes their digital content archives. Electrosonic helped realize the vision for the Engine Shed with a six-meter immersive cylinder for a 270-degree audiovisual canvas and a large LED wall for engaging content delivery. In addition, a mobile three-meter immersive cube allows HES to bring this immersive visual experience to a range of visitors at their 300+ historic properties across Scotland.
Electrosonic, in partnership with Igloo Vision, was responsible for speciality projection, detailed engineering, installation and managed on-site support.
Electrosonic’s innovative solution enhances the Engine Shed's physical spaces by seamlessly integrating digital technology, providing people with an immersive experience of various heritage sites at a single location. The solution also provides the flexibility of fixed and mobile options, allowing users to tour and experience historic buildings, sites and monuments in a meaningful way.
Upon entering the six-meter dome, people are enveloped in a 270-degree canvas, offering an immersive encounter into historic environments. Electrosonic collaborated with Igloo Vision to optimize the presentation of the clients’ extensive and diverse content within this complex space.
The three-meter projected cube delivers a similarly immersive environment with added flexibility—it can be moved within the building or to other sites, offering HES’s specialist teams’ versatility.
The large LED solution was integrated with a previously installed theatre, broadening its use. Additionally, this LED system played a key role in the mobile solution, enabling standalone events. Its modularity allowed flexible configurations tailored to various uses.
The LED wall features 4K technology, empowering the team to display higher-resolution content in a scaled fashion.
The client wanted people to feel they are viewing historic buildings and monuments at first hand. That required careful projection planning to ensure image quality and perspective on complex 270-degree projection surfaces within the cylinder.
They also wanted technology to be ‘invisible’ so people feel they are in an actual historic environment. The LED wall had to be designed for easy reconfiguration and mobility, and the entire project had to be completed within a challenging three-month timescale.
Electrosonic used expertise in experiential technology to select and develop solutions that create a realistic experience. To optimize presentation of the client’s content in the virtual spaces, we worked closely with Igloo Vision, providing technical design and projection studies. For the LED wall, we selected 4K technology to ensure higher-resolution display. To meet the tight deadline, we leveraged our vendor relationships to ensure delivery on time or source alternative equipment.
The new installations enhance the user and learner experience further by augmenting physical displays with digital content.
The immersive spaces allow people to experience remote or inaccessible historic places as though they are seeing them at first hand. The solution gives the client the opportunity and flexibility to present its rich digital content in innovative ways.
Photos courtesy of © Historic Environment Scotland
