JUNE | REVIEW
After successful seasons in
Birmingham and Manchester at
existing event centres, Dinosaurs
in the Wild came to London. But,
with no permanent building
available to accommodate such
a large show for a long period
of time, organisers turned to
temporary structure specialists
Neptunus to create a bespoke
venue.
an Oscar, but said Dinosaurs in
the Wild was one of their most
complex pieces of work ever.”
The project took more than a
thousand hours of animation and
more than 77 million frames were
rendered in Ultra 4K.
Knitting the whole show
together into an event ready for the
public was the next big challenge
for Deere, who ensured that the
team could move it efficiently and
quickly between venues.
‘It’s a 2,500sqm event, so this is
no small undertaking. We spent
quite a lot of time at the start of
the project just getting a first class
team of industry professionals
together and that has paid off
at every stage. From technical
management, sound, lighting, set
construction, screens and servers,
theatrical direction, event and
stage management - we honestly
could not have asked for a better
and more expert group of people.
Everything has come together to
make this into an event with high
production values that the team
are proud of.
“The show reflects the level of
investment, around £12m, and
many visitors have said it’s the
kind of quality experience they
associate with Universal Studios or
Disneyland.”
Above: A 4k Tyrannosaurus rex
Structured approach
Neptunus constructed
a temporary building with
reinforced flooring and load-
bearing roofs which took an eight-
strong team just three weeks to
build on the Greenwich Peninsula,
close to London’s O2 Arena,
utilising the company’s Evolution
technology.
The eight-metre-tall Evolution
Structure covered 3,400sqm and
incorporated black-out skins to
provide a dark interior.
1,600sqm of Alu Hall structures
were constructed behind
the temporary building to
accommodate the requirements
of the back-of-house support
team, while a 600sqm Alure Globe
structure links to the Evolution to
form a foyer and reception area for
visitors.
The venue houses two ‘time
machines’ and a dinosaur
research station, TimeBase 67.
Visitors and their guides
EVENT W I F I . COM
16