Colbrand touch for visitor centre

Colbrand Design Communications has designed a £125 000 visitor centre for the Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre in Southampton, which opens to the public on Friday.

The consultancy was briefed to create an interactive environment that is educational and entertaining, while also communicating the conservation issues.

The centre, which covers over 100m2, is aimed mainly at children and includes ‘plug and play displays’ which enable visitors to take an interactive look at the local area and its wildlife.

‘We looked at the whole environment rather than just creating one-off displays. There was a space where visitors could come, but it only had very dull-looking displays on the wall. The design of the centre has been brought to life in an interactive way,’ says a spokesman for the group.

It was funded predominantly by the Heritage Lottery Fund, with extra funding by Southampton City Council. Colbrand had to submit four design proposals for the centre before English Heritage agreed to fund the project.