We were commissioned by Thanet District Council, on behalf of the Heritage Lottery Fund and liaising with Sands Heritage Ltd, to design a structure to display information about the heritage of the Dreamland Amusement Park.
The structures, to be situated in the Entrance Concourse of Dreamland, comprise a centrally placed life-size horse statue flanked on either side by display kiosks, one for heritage, the other for books, with a projection screen running off the heritage kiosk.
The main entrance concourse has an awkward lack of focal direction, seemingly leading into a store room rather than into the Amusement Park. This is caused by the off-set between the front and rear sections of the concourse: between the regular rhythm of the 1930s splayed concrete portal frames and the forest of steel columns recently installed to support the Ballroom above.
The device of the horse, reminiscent of fairground horses and Sanger’s tomb (founder of Dreamland), flanked by the kiosks, provides a visual focus and a gateway towards the park.
The heritage and book kiosks, painted gold, are in essence picture walls for organising historic images, providing a structured way for organising the historic imagery in a decorative manner. Both kiosks have opening display windows for operators to man the kiosks, allowing them to double up as information and ticket desks, book and souvenir shops, as well as providing the option for future programmes. The projection screen - on axis with the main roller hall - flickers old films en route to the park and the rides.
The project was terminated by the administrators of Sands Heritage Ltd.
