Information Center Canadian War Cemetery Holten
Location: Foundation Information Center Canadian War Cemetery Holten, Holten, The Netherlands
Interactive information center
The Information Center is an interactive center about the Canadian War Cemetery and about the liberation of the northern and eastern provinces of the Netherlands in 1945. The great majority of the soldiers buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery died during the last stages of the war in The Netherlands. After the end of hostilities their remains were brought together into this cemetery. The Holten Canadian War Cemetery contains 1,393 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.
Meet a soldier through augmented reality
The Information Center is located next to the War Cemetery in the beautiful woods of Holten. When entering the building, visitors are confronted with a large and curled wall with the names of all the soldiers. At the reception they can choose which soldier they would like to meet, by choosing between 4 cards, for example: “Meet the soldier for whom the capitulation came 4 hours too late”. But first visitors pass a large map explaining the liberation of the northern and eastern provinces of The Netherlands.
Inside the curled wall a theatre is hidden, with an audio-visual presentation, telling the general story of the cemetery, but also the small and personal details visitors will be surprised to hear.
Visitors can meet their ‘soldier of choice’ at the database-stations by holding their selected card in front of the camera. Through augmented reality techniques the picture appears from the selected soldier and visitors can learn all about him. Browsing through pictures, diaries and letters from home give visitors a rich and complete image of the life of this soldier. After that they can meet 1,392 more soldiers, because all soldiers are incorporated in the database.
Personal objects and valuable pieces
At the back of the building an enormous picture wall displays the actual War Cemetery. Within this wall show cases have personal objects and other valuable pieces on display. Additionally four interactive stations show multiple movies and stories about related topics.
A visit to the Information Center is a valuable and rich layer on top of the visit of the actual cemetery. It tells the stories, it remembers and honours the soldiers and it is an attractive building that brings information and gives space for reflection.
Scope of Project
Turn-key project – Content development, Concept Design, Preliminary design, Detailed design, Graphic design, Production, Project Management.