The First Light Pavilion, Casson Mann's project at Jodrell Bank, is a finalist in the Design Week Awards for Best Exhibition Design.

Casson Mann created the permanent exhibition for the First Light Pavilion, a purpose-built visitor centre at Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Cheshire, England. The fully immersive and interactive exhibition presents the human story of Jodrell Bank, the world’s first radio astronomy site and home to the radio telescope that detected quasars, pulsars, black holes, and the rocket path of Sputnik 1.

Our most singular design move was to use the enormous dish panels of the 1957 Lovell Telescope as the fabric of the exhibition. Recognising the full potential of repurposing this heritage metal, we created a panoramic array which brings visitors into direct contact with the authentic dish that has ‘looked’ towards the heavens and been touched by cosmic rays and ‘space dust’. As the most important material evidence of the Jodrell Bank story, these telescope panels provide a structure for the exhibition, both physically and narratively.

The final results of the prestigious Design Week Awards will be announced on Tuesday 27 June.

Click here for the full shortlist.

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