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Peek behind the scenes of Stonehenge’s new visitors centre

17 08 2013

RESIDENTS of Wiltshire can peek behind the scenes of Stonehenge’s new visitors centre next month.The main contractor for the development, VINCI Construction UK, will host an Open Doors Weekend on September 27 and 28, for people to learn about the project.

The centre is a £27million project led by English Heritage, which aims to achieve the vision set out in the Stonehenge World Heritage Management Plan to restore the dignity of Stonehenge.

The new building is at Airman’s Corner, 11/2 miles from the stone circle, and will include exhibition, education and cafe space.

Low-impact vehicles, carrying up to 900 visitors an hour, will operate a 10-minute shuttle service from the visitor building to the stones.

The centre is due to open in late 2013, when the current facilities will be dismantled and the landscape around the stone circle restored.

The Open Weekend is a nationwide initiative, which invites members of the public to go around a construction site in their area.

It aims to demonstrate the range of career opportunities construction has to offer and the wide variety of skills that come together to make buildings and infrastructure.

Stephen Ratcliffe, director of UK Construction Group, one of the partners in the Open Doors project, said: “It is a unique opportunity for the industry to display the complexity, excitement and scope of modern construction projects.”

Article Source: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10612283.Stonehenge_insight_promotes_modern_building/

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Merlin at Stonehenge
The Stonehenge News Blog

Stonehenge Visitor Centre and Galleries Preview Tour.

11 05 2013

What happened on the visit ? We met English Heritage; Loranie Knowles (Stonehenge Project Director), Richard Williams (Stonehenge Project Manager) and Lisa Holmes (Stonehenge Community Projects Manager) together with staff from Vinci Construction.

Collectively they shared their experience behind the scenes of how the fantastic new facility is being made possible. We got a tour around the site and also a chance to ask questions.

We also had an opportunity to make comments after the tour and shared our thoughts about the build, along with ideas and ways we would like to see the centre used by local community in the future

The open day has been organised and hosted by English Heritage with thanks to Vinci Construction and to Heritage Lottery funding which supports local community involvement in the Stonehenge Environmental Improvement programme.

Panoramic view of Stonehenge Visitor Centre Roof

Panoramic view of Stonehenge Visitor Centre from the new coach park

Panoramic view from the Stonehenge Visitor Centre Souvenir Shop

Panoramic view of the Stonehenge Visitor Centre from the West

More images of the exterior and interior:

The Stonehenge 360 Cinema

Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Roof top view

Stonehenge Visitor Centre. Main entrance.

Loraine Knowles, Stonehenge director for English Heritage, said: “It is fantastic to see the building taking shape and to see how well it sits in the landscape. “Progress with the creation of the interior spaces for the museum galleries, education area, shop and cafe is equally exciting because it is now possible to see on the ground how these great new facilities will be experienced by our visitors.

English Heritage’s £27million project to transform the visitor facilities at Stonehenge will see the new centre open in December, with the existing facilities to be demolished and grassed over by next June.

Merlin @ Stonehenge
The Stonehenge News Blog