Le Paléosite
Centre for Neanderthal Man
Gibson Group won an international design competition for the development of an NZ$30 million visitor interpretation centre on the site of an important discovery of Neanderthal remains in St-Césaire, France.
Gibson International Ltd was responsible for all the interactive, immersive and educative exhibitions.
The basis of our concept
The basis of our concept was to focus on the personal story of the life and evolutionary context of the young female Neanderthal found buried there, and to do this by a controlled visit combining immersive group experiences with innovative interactive multi-media experiences to explore and interpret the archaeological artefacts.
While popularist in their expression, the exhibitions had to also be scientifically accurate and educative, and we worked closely with professors Yves Coppens (College de France) and Bernard Vandermeersh (University of Bordeau).
The whole centre has been designed to ensure that the complex world of scientists is made accessible to all. Children and adults will have a personalised experience through a 'smart' entry ticket. This personalised ticket will gather information on the visitor according to their nationality, age group, gender etc and customise their interactive experiences accordingly.
