De Hoep
PWN Visitor Centre
De Hoep Visitor Centre brings you on a journey through all of the different landscapes of the North-Holland Dune Reserve, from the marshy grasslands to the coast. You learn about the main players of each landscape and you also get the chance to experience it differently: you get to enjoy the night-time sounds and smells of the forest, feel the wind on the beach ridge or the coat of a Highland cow, or see through the eyes of a hawk.
Looking at this world differently helps you find the connection between animals, the landscape and nature. Working in collaboration with Xpex, we have created the concept in a completely new design in the Visitor Centre, of both the permanent display and the shop. Along with the concept, we have also created the spatial and graphic design, a series of animated films and various play concepts.
CLIENT
PWN
april 2024
Year: 2024
Location: De Hoep Visitor Centre, Castricum
pwn.nl/bezoekerscentrum-de-hoep
Photography: Mike Bink
Inside the Visitor Centre, you encounter six different types of landscapes that you will also find at the North-Holland Dune Reservation. In each different landscape type, we learn about a main character that is featured in a ‘network framework’ – in which the landscape is presented in 3D.
In each of these network frameworks, the landscapes are brought to life in animated films. A pine marten shimmies up a tree in the forest, shrubland birds take off and land and teeming insects are devoured by a toad. Dynamic lighting and a soundscape gives you a sense of actually being there.
The feeling in the room changes with the seasons. Dynamic lighting, animal species that appear with the seasons and landscape photography ensure that every season of the outside world comes to life inside the Visitor Centre.
Inside the Visitor Centre, all your senses are stimulated: you experience the night-time sounds and smells of the forest, feel the wind on the beach ridge, stroke the coat of a Highland cow or look through the eyes of a hawk.
Turn on the water pipes, see the way the water you drink travels and learn what role nature plays in providing us with drinking water.
After you’ve experienced the six landscapes up close, you can walk through them one more time at the Zoom-Out Wall. The vistas reveal new details as part of this, and you appreciate how many challenges nature brings us.
The counter and shop in the Visitor Centre combine three functions: welcoming visitors, selling products and sharing information. The natural materials and colours provide an inviting atmosphere and create a smooth transition between the entrance area and the permanent presentation.
