Our experience – Cultural & community

As well as operating under similar time and cost constraints as commercial projects, cultural and community projects often have the added pressure of having to report back to numerous funding bodies. PT Projects are experienced in maintaining a comprehensive audit trail and are used to all the associated documentation and constraints that go hand-in-hand with a publicly-funded budget.

PT Projects are also well versed in applying basic Quantity Surveying techniques to unusual products and specialist suppliers of exhibition materials.

Please see Natural History Museum, The Imperial War Museum, National Maritime Museum, U-Turn Project and West House, Pinner.

Natural History Museum

Our work for the Natural History Museum has spanned numerous projects ranging from shops and galleries to temporary and touring exhibitions, and even flooring contracts.

This has included showcases, interactive and audio-visual features, and even 'dinosaur poo' – proving that no job is too big, too small or too smelly for us to tackle!

The Museum's touring exhibitions have presented further challenges, such as making sure exhibits are easily demountable, packable for transport, and simple to construct.

The latest touring exhibition to have been commissioned and installed by the Natural History Museum is Ice Station Antarctica. This follows on from the successful Dino Jaws Exhibition, which has now gone on to its next venue. The Ice Station Antarctica project required the ability to be able to make a number of immersive environments which were cost-effective and also very easy to erect and dismantle. The project team came up with the solution of a number of inflatable structures specially adapted for display purposes, demountable structures for the base station and introduction areas and a demountable cold room for 'life in the freezer'. As with Dino Jaws, the exhibition features an interactive trail using barcode technology to enable visitors to continue their experience online and also features the usual array of mechanical and technological interactives.
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The Imperial War Museum

PT Projects have been awarded a term contract for all of the Museum's exhibition projects as well as the fit-out of their prestigious Duxford Airspace exhibition.

AirSpace features 30 British and Commonwealth, military and civil, aircraft and provides over 12,000 sq. m of collections and exhibition space. The first phase of the AirSpace exhibitions and the aircraft floor opened to the public on 29 August 2006. These exhibitions include interactive displays about aircraft, how they fly and how they are made. The displays will include a mix of video and sound, 'hands-on' displays, items to handle, computers, words and pictures, and historic objects.

The second phase includes the remaining exhibitions on the first floor mezzanine gallery along with the engines, vehicles, weapons and other objects from the Imperial War Museum collections to support the aircraft display. The exhibitions are organised thematically and follow a timeline charting the development of British aviation within the context of 20th century history.
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National Maritime Museum

PT projects have been involved with the fitting out of the new Weller Astronomy Galleries and public areas at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

The original 'New Physical Observatory' for astronomical research has now been entirely reconfigured for full public use, with 3 new interactive galleries within the fine original shell of terracotta-decorated brickwork.
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Other Museums

We also have experience of working with numerous regional and provincial museums including Scarborough Rotunda, Bowes Museum and Somerset Museum.

U-Turn Project, Bethnal Green

The aim of the U-Turn project is to offer support, information and practical intervention to women coerced into prostitution. We worked with Seth Stein architects on the renovation and conversion of the Parish Rooms at St. Matthews Parish Church into a women's centre. The new centre is a bright, clean and well-equipped space with good quality finishes. The building has medical facilities, a washroom, a laundry, a kitchen with cooking facilities, and a safe meeting place where links can be re-established with children and families.
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West House, Pinner

West House is a near-derelict Victorian house, set in beautiful parkland in Pinner – a historic village in the borough of Harrow. It is planned to completely restore the house as a local amenity, to include the Heath Robinson Museum. The project has been split into phases to enable work to be commissioned as funds are raised, and at present the core works component is on site.

The project has received funding from Harrow Council who are the freeholders for the property. PT Projects are providing full Quantity Surveying Services and Project Management Support Services, including viability assessment so that revenue can be created to help pay for future works.

When completed, the project will have a café, temporary and permanent exhibition galleries, multi-purpose function spaces, office facilities and external balcony/terrace areas.
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