Norwich’s ground-breaking creative technology facility hosts UKRI

Norwich University of the Arts hosts the leadership team from UKRI, the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK.

Members of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) visited the University’s Immersive Visualisation Lab on 19 October to find out more about our research around immersive environments. 

The facility is the first of its kind in the UK, and brings together film makers, animators, games designers and visual artists from across the region to communicate and address global challenges.

Combining volumetric capture, virtual production and immersive display, the facility is to be used for research, knowledge exchange and teaching. Having been awarded funding by the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Creative Research Capability fund earlier this year, a team of academics, technicians and industry partners have spent an intense six months assembling, testing and commissioning work for the facility. 

The Immersive Visualisation Lab is comprised of four main elements: 

• A 10m x 4m 360-degree LED screen 
• A Holosys volumetric capture system 
• Two cutting edge ARRI 360-degree cameras 
• Dolby Atmos sound studio

It brings these elements together in a space for experimentation and research, which is unmatched in the UK and only the second in Europe.

The facility has already convened a diverse cluster of researchers, industry specialists and partners. This includes the University of East Anglia, Anglia Ruskin University, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, October Studios, Broads Authority, Tyndall Centre, Collusion and Vamplify.

Although still in its early stages of development, the lab is being utilised for the ‘Living In Changing Landscapes’ project, which will explore the impact of rising sea levels on communities living in the Broads and East Anglian coastal region.
The facility will provide a space for visual storytelling, looking at the past, present and future of these landscapes in order to engage with impacted communities to explore ways they can prepare for and adapt to their changing environment. 

The lab also presents an exciting opportunity to attract international partners to Norwich by offering a one-stop-shop for these different creative technologies, supported by a community of academics and industry practitioners with growing knowledge of its possibilities. 

Header image by BA (Hons) Photography lecturer Denisa Ilie