Inverness Castle fit-out work gathers pace and excited chiefs believe Highland residents and tourists will be stunned by the visual presentation of the famous Rose Window
Excited chiefs behind the multi-million pound revamp of Inverness Castle cannot wait to unveil the special moments they have created - and expect the famous Rose Window to really wow onlookers.
The window, which was once a prominent landmark in the city centre but had lain in storage for decades, has now been installed in the castle.
And the teams behind the castle’s spectacular facelift believe the way the window has been presented and back lit will be a particularly “special moment” for visitors.
The comments came amid a video update in which key project leaders described some of the recent milestones as the internal fit-out work gathers pace ahead of the castle’s opening later this year.
Joe Fisher, director of Workhaus Projects, which are leading the fit-out work, said: “[There’s] some really exciting bits which are very bespoke. We're creating holograms that sit inside lanterns, we're creating rear projection exhibits which look like holograms floating in mid-air. We are using video walls that sit behind the Rose Window that are going to make it really come to life and be super exciting for everyone."
Chris Mather, CEO and founder of Mather & Co: also describes the Rose Window as being one of his favourite features. He said: “A piece of the castle I'd really like to take back with me would be the Rose Window.
“We've brought that to life in a spectacular way with front and back projection. Architecturally, it's suspended in the space. It weighs tons, and the architectural team is brilliant to actually make it just literally float in the space.
"So I think that's going to be a special moment."
But the Rose Window is not the only exhibit to be given a spectacular high-tech treatment.
Mr Fisher continued: “Visitors can interact with quite a few of the exhibits around the castle…. In the Tartan Room there's an exhibit where we can create our own tartan that will then go on to a large portrait screen, and you can get a selfie with the tartan that you've created."
"Most unique part of this project has definitely been working in such small rooms, especially in the South Tower where we've rammed full exhibits, especially audio-visual hardware theatrical set works, which make them really come to life. And it's about making the experience special in each individual room. This is going to be so exciting for everyone to see."
Mr Mather added that as well as retaining a lot of the castle’s original surfaces the project has also created a lot of “unusual spaces”.
He said: "Not only have we got wonderful views from the terraces but we've actually got really unusual space, very cosy space. We have a whisky waterfall. It's special, curated spirits, not just whiskies. It will be a fantastic tasting experience. I'm really looking forward to that."
Jason Kelman, principal project manager for Highland Council says a recent milestone he is particularly excited with was the installation of the link building’s glazing. He said: "So one of the most satisfying things that's happened on the job over the last couple of months has been the installation of the glazing within the link building.
"It's a complicated process and it's a complicated detailing system we have for that . So that has now been installed and we're really pleased to see that in place."
