Art Gallery of Ontario Click Netherfield have been appointed to work with Gehry Partners of Los Angeles, architects for the redevelopment of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. This project sets new standards in showcase design, engineering and geometrical complexity – cases for the Thomson Ship Models Collection Gallery are a free form curving design in plan view with a wave profile to the top. The Thomson Collection of European Art Galleries integrate minimal case design with maximum functionality, and a delightful range of material finishes from white marble to Douglas Fir to copper plate and even cast bronze. www.ago.net Queens Award for International trade 2008 What do Bill Clinton, Princess Diana, Jack the Ripper, Winston Churchill & Tutankhamen have in common? They all have an exhibition with showcases designed and built by the latest Queen’s Award winner for International Trade, The British Showcase Group t/a ClickNetherfield. The award recognises the achievement of ClickNetherfield in growing their export market by 140% (336% in 4 years) in the last three years. ClickNetherfield have been designing, manufacturing and installing showcases since the 1970’s and was previously a winner of a British Design award. In 2004, the company won The Edinburgh Evening News Lothian Business Excellence Award for International Business and now The Queen’s Award recognises their impressive achievement of having installed their cases in over 40 countries across the world. This medium size company, with Headquarters in Livingston and offices in Thame has grown both turnover and profit by three figures in the last 5 years, with the majority of the products being manufactured in Britain. They have offices in Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen as well as distributors in a number of countries including the USA, Australia and its latest in Istanbul, Turkey. Their Clients include all the UK’s major museums and overseas they have cases in The Louvre, The Smithsonian Institute (NASM & Natural History) and the latest project, the company’s largest to date, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. A very diverse business, you can see their cases in all walks of life from your local heritage centre to the Palaces of Royal Families including, Her Majesty the Queen and The King of Saudi Arabia. Comments John French Group Chairman “This award recognises the successful realisation of a carefully considered strategy to enter markets overseas, in which we face both Global and Local competition. Our focus on a “one stop strategy” where we have all the key elements of Design, manufacture and installation in house has really paid off in all areas of our business: but in particular our international business.” International Slavery Museum in Liverpool For the opening of the new International Slavery Museum in Liverpool in August 2007, Click Netherfield completed a technically demanding five-month project involving the development of a variety of case models. Located in Liverpool’s Albert Dock, at the centre of a World Heritage site, close to the dry Docks where 18th century slave trading ships were repaired, the new International Slavery Museum pays tribute to the millions of Africans who were forced into slavery and highlights both the historical and contemporary aspects of this deplorable human phenomenon. The refurbishment of the museum, which opened on the date of the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade, Click Netherfield has created and installed INCA, PRISM, MONO and ACCESS showcases within the galleries of the museum. This project incorporates the successful development of custom built, shaped cases, with an important focus on conservation and protection of the precious artifacts. Concealed within the cases, active climate control and integrated passive humidity control systems have been carefully installed to ensure the integrity of the display chamber. Attention has been paid to the visibility of the artifacts, by the use of Amiran® low reflective glass: for an optimal collection display. This project was particularly challenging for our team, which utilised its expertise to develop custom cases and design and install hundreds of fibre optic tails. The work, achieved in close cooperation with Redman Design Associates and the contractors, has resulted in a remarkable Gallery, where objects are featured in very diverse types of cases, a number of which stand out with their LCD screens designed and built into the case structure.
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