After 5 years and £80 million, the iconic Elizabeth Tower – home to the famous Big Ben bell – has been completely renovated and is open again to the public.
But with the scaffolding removed, no-one will have the opportunity to see up-close the painstaking restoration of the exterior – the stonemasonry, heraldry, gold detailing and the famous clockface itself. And with limited visitor capacity and access, there’s always more demand for in-person tours than can be accommodated.
That’s where we came in.
We worked with the UK Parliament team to capture 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. As well as securing 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 and set it in context of Parliament Square, the River Thames and the London skyline.
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.
As a final flourish, the navigation was built around a detailed animated 3D model of the tower.
