Audio Handles for The Darton Centre 2011

The Darton Centre, South Yorkshire, is built on the site of the former Darton Urban District Council Town Hall and offers services to the community such as adult social care, a children’s centre, a physiotherapy suite and universal help and advice for those who seek it.

The original Council Town Hall was opened in 1936 and as part of the replacement of this building, certain artefacts were conserved as a remembrance of the building and local history. These artefacts included stained glass windows and two art deco door handles.

Working alongside Catherine Scriven Interpretation, blackbox-av was able to adapt these door handles into an audio interpretation installation for the new Darton Centre. Each handle, when turned, plays a piece of audio history and memories of the old building and the contribution it made to society and the finished handles were installed alongside artwork which celebrates the former Council Town Hall and its history in South Yorkshire.

The device makes use of our SB Lite Audio Player which is light and compact allowing for an easy installation and it is triggered through special magnetic sensors in the handles meaning the mechanism will never wear down as can happen with buttons.