Dickens World: Tunnel Vision
A Dickens of a good attraction in Medway !
Costing some £62 million, a major new attraction has opened in Medway celebrating the life, times and books of Mr. Charles Dickens. Engineers and designers have worked for months to recreate typical Victorian architecture such as the famed cobbled streets so familiar with readers of his novels. Specialist lighting has been installed which gives the mood and feel of the Victorian period. A highlight is the boat ride experience which takes visitors from a murky sewer to the atmospheric London rooftops.
When approached by the design team, Sarena was delighted to have the opportunity to become involved in this innovative project. Starting with just an artist’s sketch, Sarena’s team got to work designing moulded glass fibre (GRP) tunnel sections which would form part of the feature indoor waterway system. Some 14 sections would be required with a height of almost 3.5 metres and a total length of over 19m.
Critical to the design would be lightweight construction and ease of movement to facilitate installation, whilst having a surface finish in keeping with Victorian times. Sarena started by producing bespoke moulds which would impart the finished product with the look and texture of traditional hand made bricks, so typical of the late 19th century. Curved GRP sections were then produced, ready for the onsite wizards to add paint and texture finishing components that resulted in the realistic brick tunnel effect.
Sarena managed the project from design consultation to the delivery logistics – itself no mean feat! The results are amazing and Sarena is proud of its association with this project.
Why not make a visit and see for yourself.. http://www.dickensworld.co.uk
Sarena has been involved with GRP manufacturing processes since 1958 and is the oldest privately owned company in its field.
As well as an extensive range of standard products for the building services industry, the company is keen to discuss custom design mouldings and contract manufacture.
