Work has neared completion on our new Creativity Studio / Making Studio for the International Centre for Life. The new facilities support hands-on making activities – covering everything from sewing and soldering, to cardboard construction and coding.
The project represents a intense year long project for the International Centre for Life and a team of designers including Studio Horn (S.Eng), Skelly and Couch (MEP) with input from Apex Acoustics and Greenways (QS). The project was delivered by STP construction with bespoke joinery from RASKL/ Your Workhop.
The project draws on the original ad-hoc creativity studio in the Centre for Life which was built by the team using recycled cardboard tubes. The new structure is built using laminated timber frame with a modern industrial aesthetic of cardboard and corrugated tiles to reflect the evolving creative workshops run by the centre for life. The two new studios will provide a varying and changeable daily workshops which will evolve on a regular basis. The new studio will act as a host for local and regional school and workshops run around programming and coding, to problem solving challenges.
The new creativity facilities surrounded the new facilities to provide a range of interactive exhibits and creative challenges that range from a selfie booths to poetry robots. Harper Perry won the project back in July 2018 from as part of an invited competition.
The Making Studios have been supported through the Inspiring Science Fund, a £30 million capital scheme to support science centres across the UK, helping them rethink what they do and what they offer to the public. The scheme is co-funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Wellcome Trust.
Additional support has been provided by The Garfield Weston Foundation and the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust.