Big Ben Renovation Virtual Tour

We’ve worked with the UK Parliament twice before, so seizing on this once-in-a-generation opportunity, we captured high-resolution 360 images of the key areas inside the tower. From the mechanism room, to the clock faces, the belfry, and the Ayrton light inside the tower’s spire, we wanted everybody to see what we could see.

Set in the context of Parliament Square, the River Thames and the London skyline, the virtual tour was built around a detailed animated 3D model of the tower. 

We then developed a branded microsite to allow online users to explore the imagery and interact with rich media hotspots, containing text, images and video. Recreating the real-world tour experience, and supporting it with interesting materials from the historical archives. 

For example, did you know that the clock faces were not always black and white? The recent renovation has restored them to their original navy and white, something that users can now see up close. Likewise, visitors can now virtually explore the walkways around the bells, and examine the original gears that control the clock and the pendulum.

As a taxpayer-funded project, we needed to ensure everybody could experience the tower after its renovation. This meant making the virtual tour fully compliant with web content accessibility guidelines. The entire microsite is screen-reader friendly, all the controls can be operated with a keyboard, the text is high-contrast, and users can zoom into key areas.

Production was a complex process, and we probably set a new record for paperwork! Alongside gaining access to the tower during the renovation, and the health and safety considerations that presented, we also had to work closely with multiple agencies to coordinate a date we could shoot – something not always easy on the Parliamentary Estate!

As part of this, we undertook the extremely complicated process to get incredibly rare permission for a drone flight over the Palace of Westminster and around the Elizabeth Tower, to capture the close-up details on the outside. The drone shoot alone required permission from:

• The Civil Aviation Authority, including the Secure (military) Wing of the CAA
• The Metropolitan Police
• Westminster City Council
• The Palace Estates Team
• The Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons
• National Air Traffic Services (NATS)

Lastly, we needed final sign-off from Natural England. The Palace has a resident pair of nesting peregrine falcons who need to be protected. On the day, their permanent representative had to ensure the pair were nowhere near, and gave us the approval that it was safe to fly.

The virtual experience opened the Elizabeth Tower to a huge worldwide audience, who can visit 24/7 from anywhere in the world, and removed all physical barriers to exploring this incredible space. 

As an iconic feature of London’s skyline and of Britain as a whole, we are proud to add this prestigious project to our portfolio alongside previous work with the Houses of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster.

If you’d like to find out more about our Virtual Tours, download our brand new factsheet today.