North Hertfordshire Museum
Project The North Hertfordshire Museum in Hitchin is a major cultural hub that brings together the heritage collections of the district under one accessible, modernised roof adjacent to Hitchin Town Hall. The museum presents local archaeology, social history, natural history, and community narratives through chronological and thematic galleries, as well as flexible spaces for temporary exhibitions and displays. Its redevelopment was part of a long-term project to create a welcoming museum with state-of-the-art display and interactive features, supporting the council’s aim to share the stories of the people and places of North Hertfordshire
Challenge The design challenge was to integrate bespoke exhibition infrastructure into a complex, multi-use building while presenting an extensive and varied collection in an engaging and legible way. The internal structures needed to accommodate a diverse range of artefacts, from prehistoric tools and Iron Age remains to social history objects and interactive educational displays, with clear sightlines and intuitive circulation. This required careful resolution of scale, materials, and technical detailing so that each display case, gallery zone, and interactive exhibit functioned both independently and as part of a cohesive visitor journey.
My Role I was responsible for the spatial concept, 3D design, engineering, and fabrication of the internal exhibition structures, joinery, and interactive elements within the museum. All display cases, Corian-clad joinery, and mechanisms were modelled in 3D CAD, prefabricated in our workshop, and installed on site to ensure precision and quality. Among the bespoke interactive exhibits were tactile, electromechanical installations — such as a dynamic historical diorama of Biggin House and responsive thematic displays — each designed to engage visitors physically and intellectually with the content.
Results & Impact The resulting environment supports a wide range of exhibition types, from permanent historical galleries to temporary shows like “What’s in Store?”, which explores the museum’s extensive stored collections, and has helped ensure the museum retains accreditation and grant eligibility through improved facilities. The project demonstrates how thoughtful exhibition design — combining clarity of circulation, bespoke fabrication, and interactive engagement — can make complex local heritage accessible and compelling for diverse audiences, from families and schools to researchers and museum professionals.
Nicholas Alexander Ltd fitted out the museum with Corian clad joinery, to house a number of display cases and exhibits. The internal structures and Corian cladding were all 3D CAD modeled by our in house design team and pre fabricated in our workshop to be taken to site for installation. Also, fabricated were a range of complex interactive exhibits and their intricate internal mechanisms. These interactive mechanisms performed a range of exciting processes for members of the public to engage with.
Some of these included:
Biggin House: The most complicated dolls house in the world! The house itself is a Corian model of Biggin House, in North Herts. Inside is a Pepper’s Ghost illusion, which comprises of an angled piece of special glass with holographic projection film, and a screen above. Behind that is a drum which rotates, and is split into four sections. Each section is a different room set, which represents a different period in history. When the lever is pulled, a scene is played out, and each time the lever is pulled after that causes the drum to spin round and play the next scene.
Pharmacy: A large pharmacy counter which lit up different sections of the human body and remedy’s when users triggered certain objects or opened the drawers.
Matching Pairs: To explain the Etymology of some of the place names in North Herts, we created a matching pairs game. Featuring two spinning Acylic drums, when the icons that match are lined up, it lights a graphic tile. This one is totally electro-mechanical, using roller microswitches and simple electronics. That’s what gives it it’s satisfying tactile quality, as well as being very reliable.
Monkey on a trike: This little guy is pedalling along an infinite road, but somehow, just keeps happily going. Of all the interactives we’ve built, this was the simplest in conception and execution but gets a great reaction from everyone who plays with it.
