The New KOC Oil & Gas Exhibition in Al Ahmadi will open in mid-2011 as a unique interactive visitor experience – enabling people to live the history and culture of Kuwait’s oil sector through a series of leading-edge exhibitions.
Event was appointed by the Kuwait Oil Company to masterplan the museum, which conveys the meaning of oil and gas through key players from the sector. The ‘Interactive Spine’ will enable visitors to meet experts from the industry and learn what it is to be like them through use of multi-media interfaces. Visitors will receive an RFID ‘tag’ which personalises the experience to them – giving the impression of communicating with a real-life geoscientist, health & safety manager, control centre engineer, tanker pilot and firefighter in real-time.
Visitor interaction is also delivered across the four floors through use of selected artefacts which tell different stories about the history of oil. The Heroes of Fire multimedia theatre includes a 180º film projection and four metre-high spouts of real flame and smoke to convey the devastation caused by the 1991 oil fires whilst memorabilia from the war with Iraq highlights the central role of oil during that period.
Nawale Lacroix, Project Manager at Event, explains: “The Kuwait Oil Company is one of the world’s major oil and gas producers. Oil is so fundamental to the history and culture of the Kuwaiti people that we needed to design an exhibition that would truly convey that. We have used a thematic and chronological approach which puts the visitor at the centre of the experience – asking them to live it with us so that they can absorb the enormity of what they see. The resulting designs give Al Ahmadi a unique offer which will appeal to local people and visitors of all ages.”
When complete, the exhibition will replace the small KOC Display Centre currently based in Al Ahmadi.
About Event Communications
Event is recognised as a leader in the field of exhibition, museum and attraction design, with a reputation for outstanding interpretation, innovation, communication and delivery. Founded in 1986 and now Europe’s largest design group focusing on museums and visitor attractions, Event has delivered over 150 major projects in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America and has unparalleled levels of insight, awareness and knowledge in the sector.
As a company, Event provides a complete range of design services including masterplanning, interpretative planning, 3D-design, graphic design and project management. The practice has a wide experience of working with leading architects to deliver unique spatial solutions, both in new build and in historic structures, and in working with curators and collections experts. Our core focus is engagement and communication with audiences through imaginative interpretation and design. This demands that we have a practice-wide appreciation of a range of issues arising, from the requirements of diverse audience groups to the special needs associated with interpreting historic monuments.
Driven by a constant ambition to provide better experiences and to increase levels of visitor involvement, Event’s approach is one that is bespoke in nature and seeks to combine the best and most appropriate interpretation techniques to effect the most spectacular attainment of client goals and visitor satisfaction.
Past projects include the award winning galleries at Kelvingrove in Glasgow (often cited as the ‘future of museums’), the Chester Beatty Library (European Museum of Year 2002), Imperial War Museum North, The Clore Gallery in Manchester and The John Murray Archive in Scotland.
Contact for further information:
Emily Browne / Emily Luscombe
Camargue Tel: 020 7636 7366 Email: ebrowne@camarguepr.com / eluscombe@camarguepr.com
