Leavesden HIVE – Three Rivers District Council

Leavesden Country Park offers something fun for the whole family, whether it involves heritage, wildlife, biking, play areas or just a nice coffee. The park also provides a home to the Leavesden HIVE, a heritage and wildlife education centre built for the community.

We were commissioned by Three Rivers District Council to design and manufacture a bespoke cabinet for installation in the HIVE that would allow access to various types of multi-media, this includes websites and videos but primarily oral histories charting the areas rich history. As part of a wider project numerous recordings were made of local people who have a connection to Leavesden Hospital, Aerodrome, Rolls Royce and the Leavesden Film Studios.

These oral histories are now digitised and ensure people’s memories can be  preserved and shared with future generations. The new Listening Corner utilises a 10″ Open Frame Screen with which to display these oral histories while a 22″ all-in-one PC offered access to videos produced by Filmmaker Rob Finlay which explore all the Leavesden Country Park has to offer, as well as websites of local heritage groups, all via our Lightbox 2 WebBrowser software package.

The Heritage Trial short film is also available on the touchscreen, offering insight into the creation of the park’s many sculptures from ideas through to installation, complete with interviews from each of the artists involved. All of which can be listened to via 2 Heavy Duty Headsets.

This was a great project to be a part of and the results speak for themselves, as the council Leisure Team put it, they are “… delighted with the Listening Corner… it’s given our Oral Histories a permanent home, meaning they have an even greater sense of importance. It adds another dimension to the experience in Leavesden HIVE and is a great addition to our National Lottery Heritage Fund project in the Park”.