The project was over eight years in the making. The vision was to bring the extensive heritage and engineering of Silverstone and British motor racing to life through the creation of a dynamic, interactive and educational visitor experience in an existing World War II hangar on site. The Silverstone Experience was part of a £20 million overall budget, with £9.1 million coming from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Paul Lee, senior project designer at Mather & Co, said: “This project has been fantastic to work on. Silverstone’s history goes way beyond motor racing and it has a rich heritage and social community, something we sought to bring out in our designs and storytelling.”
The experienced design consultancy carried out a large scope of work for the experience, including; creative development, masterplanning, architectural concept, exhibition, retail, and café design, content development and graphic communication.
The design journey centred around a magical lap of Silverstone that takes people from the history of the circuit and origins of the corner names to the technical design, safety engineering, medical science and engineering behind the F1 and MotoGP teams today. It is an exhilarating journey where visitors are placed at the heart of the action.
Large-scale cars and motorbikes are placed in context and brought to life using high impact graphic backdrops, AV projections and dramatic lighting. In the Tech Lab a series of different interactive stations are used to allow visitors to explore the different elements of car and motorbike design. The space not only provides an engaging environment to explore the many facets of design, but also offers an on-gallery classroom for groups and an advertisement of the many careers in the industry.
Chris Mather, chief executive at Mather & Co, said: “We’re thrilled to now have one of the best examples of our design work, in the past 25 years of the company, in the heart of the UK, accessible to tens of millions of people. This will be a must-see attraction for anyone interested in motorsport across the world, as well as those interested in the beginnings of Silverstone as the jewel in the British motor racing crown.
“Our work continues to improve with every project we complete, and we continue to adopt new technologies and techniques, as we take on compelling briefs for some of the world’s largest sports teams and most historic sites across the globe.”
Mather & Co is an experienced multidisciplinary visitor attraction design consultancy based in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Specialising in the design and installation of highly interactive and engaging museums, exhibitions and visitor attractions. They have unrivalled experience in interpreting and displaying sporting and heritage collections and are always looking for new ways to tell stories, create engaging visitor journeys and attract new audiences.
