Pierhead Building, National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff

Dating back to 1897, the Pierhead Building is regarded as one of the most iconic buildings in Wales. Known as the “Welsh Big Ben”, it was once a central point of commerce for Wales, being home to the Bute Dock Company and later, the Cardiff Railway Company and over the years, the building has seen considerable refurbishment.

Reopening on St. David’s Day 2010, the goal of the Pierhead Museum development is to create a space where individuals, communities and organisations can voice their opinions on issues which matter to them, with a mission statement to “inform, involve and inspire” their visitors.

The audio-visual installation from blackbox-av, done as part of the 2010 reopening, more than met all of the requirements given to us. The refurbishment of this grade 1 listed building was carried out with fit out contractors Realm and includes exhibits exploring Welsh history as well as spaces for public debates and assembly sponsored events.

There are nearly 15 sound stores around this historic building, providing audio in both English and Welsh, including sound store information pods and 1950s telephones through which visitors can call up the past.

A large, 42” LCD screen plays historical footage of the museum and is configured to play automatically if a visitor is near the screen which is an excellent way of saving power. A central feedback station allows visitors to give their views on subjects asked by the museum with information being displayed on a large word cloud.

The station consists of a screen and keyboard. When a question is posed, a visitor simply types their response which then flows around the room on a large LED sign before arriving at the word cloud displayed in the centre of the room on a 52” screen.

The Welsh Heroes room serves two purposes. As part of the museum, 15 small screens provide information about Welsh heroes to visitors and these screens have been cleverly mounted on a platform which allows them to be hidden away within their base, creating a large table and transforming the space into a meeting room.

The building has also been fitted with an information rack complete with remote access capabilities which allows blackbox-av engineers access, update, maintain and monitor hardware and software within the building. A discrete and hassle free method of making sure everything is running perfectly.