A Margate design studio is celebrating the opening of three projects in the next week – including one which has been in development since 2012.
HKD are overseeing the opening of a Chinese space museum, a new gallery for children in Cheltenham, and a historic abbey in Northampton.
The company, which is based at Marine Studios on Margate seafront, started work on the Hong Kong Space Museum in 2012. Director Rick Houghton is in Hong Kong for the building relaunch after its multi-million pound renovation.
Hong Kong Space Museum’s exhibit halls set for relaunch after HK$32 million facelift.
Disorientation in a virtual space station and creating an aurora inside a vacuum tube are just some of the new experiences that await visitors.https://t.co/lD5JqJDngD pic.twitter.com/p3ak4LRd8T— Discover HongKong (@HongKong_365) April 24, 2018
Meanwhile the studio’s designer Glenn Mellor is off to Cheltenham, for the opening of the WOW Children’s Gallery at the Wilson Gallery and Creative Director Kate Kneale is heading to Northampton’s Delapre Abbey, which is 900 years old and was the site of Civil War battles. Houghton and Kneale founded HKD in 2000 and moved their business to Margate in 2009 – opening Marine Studios at the same time.
Houghton had worked under Festival of Britain designer James Gardiner, and Kneale had worked in television and theatre.
Marine Studios, in Albert Terrace, was designed to reflect HKD’s interest in curiosity and inquiry and has hosted regular First Fridays, where artists, writers and audiences come together to explore a subject. Forthcoming events look at Thanet’s technological tinkerers (Friday, May 4) and moving to Margate (Friday, June 1). HKD’s team will be at both events.
The three HKD projects opening this week build on other recent projects, including a gallery at Maidstone Museum and a touring exhibition which launched at London’s Oxo Tower. The team are working on a number of other projects, using local freelance writers, designers and makers.
To find out more about HKD, follow them on Twitter at @hkd_uk
Report Dan Thompson