EDF Energy Hinkley Point C
The First Nuclear Power Station in the past 2 decades.
This visitor centre is filled with numerous scale models, that will teach you how EDF Energy will produce enough low-carbon power to facilitate over 6 million homes. Take an up close look into the UK’s latest nuclear power station.
A dedicated learning centre for a milestone in the nuclear power industry.
We were asked by EDF to build a number of interactives based on the designs produced by Smith and Jones, for the new visitor centre at Hinkley Point C. Each had to be carefully considered to be fun and engaging, but also able to help explain the process of how a nuclear power station works.
We built a detailed model of the reactor that allows individual internal components and the outer shell to be illuminated separately. Each element is suspended using clear acrylic supports and allowing users to easily identify every part.
We used a combination of LEDs and fibre optics to achieve precise and dynamic illumination throughout the model. The individual components were produced using a mix of 3D-printed plastics and hand-machined alloys, each carefully designed and fabricated to simplify, yet accurately represent, the real structure.
Alongside the main reactor building, we created a detailed cutaway model of the nuclear reactor core. This piece reveals the very heart of the reactor, allowing users to clearly observe and study its internal structure in depth.
Each interactive model is mounted on a bespoke CNC-cut frame, fully clad in Hi-Macs to form circular display tables. Embedded beneath the surface of each table is a touch-foil interface, providing seamless interactive control and engagement with the models.
Adjacent to the main table sits a satellite station featuring a more hands-on interactive. This includes a functional Geiger counter with embedded radioactive sources within the tabletop, allowing users to scan and take readings. Participants can then test the effectiveness of various barrier materials by placing different discs in front of the source to see how each substance attenuates radiation.