Bath Abbey

Client: Bath Abbey

Project: Visitor Experience Design

Project Background

Bath Abbey is undertaking an ambitious £20M programme to repair the building, upgrade facilities and transform the visitor experience. As one of the leading visitor attractions in the south west it was important to develop the offering and drive visitor recommendation.

Our role

Active Thinking was invited to develop an integrated visitor and event experience.

We fostered collaboration between the design team, operational teams and other stakeholders to develop one dynamic design team. We developed an agreed innovative visitor experience that enhances the Abbey’s reputation, ensuring visitors share a great experience with their friends and family.Foster

This enabled design certainty to be reached early in the design cycle thus saving costs, reducing risk and ensuring visitors, worshippers and employees were at the forefront of the design approach.

Our role was then extended to develop the catering proposition and operational design.

Outcome

• Visitor experience that is integrated, innovative and maximises business benefits

• Reduced design costs

• Clear and common path for all current and future stakeholders to follow

• Clear understanding of the operational design issues that needed to be resolved

“I wish I had got Charles in a year ago, he would have saved me a lot of money”

Charles Curnock, Programme Director, Bath Abbey.