First Light Pavilion is a permanent, immersive exhibition at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, which is part of the University of Manchester. It is the world’s first radio astronomy site, and home to the radio telescope that detected quasars, black holes and Sputnik 1.

Casson Mann designed the space to engage visitors with the site’s history using original panels from the 1957 Lovell Telescope – the third largest of its kind in the world – as the framework for the exhibition. Displays are projected on to these panels, which share the stories of Jodrell’s scientists, as well as images of astronomical charts and Sputnik in motion.

“We met the challenge of designing a history exhibition with few original artefacts by capturing the spirit of a post-war site,” explains Casson Mann. “The style of multimedia suggests a patina of age, and exhibition fixtures evoke the materiality of the observatory, full of filing cabinets and dusty lever-arch files.”

Credits:
First Light Pavilion, Jodrell Bank
Category: Installations & Exhibitions
Entrant: Casson Mann
Client: University of Manchester
Concept, Scenographic Design and Interpretation: Casson Mann
Project Lead: John Pickford
Creative Direction: Roger Mann
Designers: Justin Wilson, Eleonora Francica
Interpretation: Kirsty Kelso
Architecture: Hassell Studio
Lighting: DHA Designs
AV Hardware: Electrosonic
AV Software Design: Squint/Opera and ISO Design
Exhibition Contractor: Realm Projects