Airbus is the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe, providing products, services and solutions for the commercial aircraft, helicopter, defence and space sectors. Drawing on over half a century of aerospace engineering expertise, Airbus products are defined by innovation. Airbus are developing the next generation of aircraft to be lighter, safer and more fuel-efficient, and to fly using alternative fuel sources.
The Airbus factory in Broughton, located in Flintshire, North Wales, is a major manufacturing site for Airbus’s commercial aircraft wings. Historically a military aircraft shadow factory, it now serves as a global centre of excellence for wing production.
We were approached by Airbus to transform a disused office and reception area in their Broughton headquarters into an informative, entertaining and visually charming Airbus Visitor Centre, created to commemorate 75 years of Airbus. We were honoured to attend the opening of the Airbus Visitor Centre which impressively was opened by royalty. HRH The Prince of Wales unveiled the plaque and said a few words about how delightful and important the centre was and what a commendable organisation Airbus is. Our creative team did a fantastic job of transforming the space into an attractive exhibition space, fit for a future King and one that visitors will hopefully enjoy for at least another 75 years.
To bring this space to life and engage visitors we designed each area to be as creative and informative as possible. Designing a suite of full size wall graphics to compliment an actual piece of an Airbus A350 wing tip called a ‘Sharklet’ which is a modern wingtip designed to reduce vortex wind over the wings, reducing drag and improving fuel efficiency. We intelligently designed the graphics to zoom into the background connecting the real ‘Sharklet’ wingtip with our two dimensional wing of a plane in perspective on the wall graphic. The display was accompanied by interactive ipad kiosks for which we created presentations, model plane display cabinets, large light box posters reflecting the style of airport advertisements and general airport style signage.
The main attraction was to showcase the the ‘Story of the Wing’, which visualised the journey that each wing takes from it’s beginnings in the factory to delivery. The area includes a purpose built display area with architecture that we designed to protect the ‘Sharklet’ behind a small dwarf wall and glass section.
Airbus wanted to enhance the original visitors centre by extending the current space to create a larger history area. We updated the previous History of Airbus timeline, incorporated an interactive TV, added a new artefacts area and created a Heroes of Aviation display. Split into four sections we designed The Heroes of Aviation to have a 3D effect, large cutouts were created and staggered on a raised platform, both floor and wall covered in vinyl graphics. iPad kiosks were placed at the front of the display, playing video timelines about each of three aviation greats who included, The Wright Brothers, Amy Johnson and Frank whittle. The fourth section provides an area for visitors to have photos taken in period clothes and accessories.
We were pleased to be asked to help design a new room in the centre, which would help visitors envision what Airbus could be like in the future. Our objectives were to create an interactive environment where visitors could learn how technology and our travel experience will change in the years to come. Wall vinyls were created to mimic the interior of an advanced airplane, with the centre piece of the room being a hologram display with an informative motion video on Airbus future advancements.
