Inspirational Visitor Experience for Iconic Motorcycle Superbrand 26th June 2019 | IN PROJECT OF THE WEEK | BY SBID

Project of the Week

This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a unique public space design for Triumph Motorcycles. Studio MB collaborated with Triumph Motorcycles to create a world-class visitor facility within the heart of its Hinckley factory in Leicestershire. The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience is a site of pilgrimage for motorcycle enthusiasts and the general public, offering an inspiring and informative 1,200-square-metre exhibition and factory tour, including café and shop. The exhibition presents a chronology of Triumph’s historic and contemporary achievements in motorcycle design, engineering and manufacture. It offers visitors a deeper appreciation of the authentic heritage and ongoing success of this genuine British icon and international super brand. The exhibition connects with existing riders and captures the imagination of new customers, telling a passionate story of Triumph Motorcycles by the people who make them and by the people who ride them. Studio MB was responsible for delivering this brand experience, from master planning to onsite completion as a design and build package.

Sector: Public Space Design

Company: Studio MB

Project: Triumph Factory Visitor Experience

Project Location: Hinckley, United Kingdom

What was the client’s brief? 

Triumph Motorcycles approached us with a view to creating a factory tour and visitor experience that would be a world-class, built for purpose ‘home’ for the brand and a destination to welcome the ‘pilgrimage’ of motorcycle enthusiasts and the general public from all over the UK and around world.

The visit was to include an inspiring, involving and informing 1,200m2 exhibition set over two floors plus two distinct styles of factory tour – one tour Monday to Thursday when the line is operational, and one special ‘behind the scenes’ tour at weekends when the factory line is not running. There was also to be an excellent café serving quality food and drink plus rider appropriate visitor facilities.

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the Week

What inspired the interior design of the project? 

Put simply, Triumph did. There is so much to Triumph – from its genuine racing pedigree, engineering and technological precision to a real sense of ‘Hollywood cool’. There’s also a rebellious side to the brands DNA which has propelled its popularity and coupled with a history of iconic design has led to the bikes being favoured for customisation. The new bikes have proven no exception with sublime detailing and qualitative finishes. So it really wasn’t difficult to find inspiration for the design of this new, inspiring public space in all of that.

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the WeekWhat was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

It was sometimes difficult for the client to understand the bespoke nature of what we do and the process we undertake. Triumph have a very talented team who live and breathe their trade, spending a lot of time in research and development before they release a bike to the public. They look for fully resolved designs and hard data to back their process for rider focused products. We are rarely given the time frames or the budgets to do R&D for projects and our process is not only user-centric but also narrative-driven so it was important to ensure the project didn’t lose sight of this. We always look to provide bespoke projects for our clients, yet our vision for a project is still informed by past experience. We use this to guide our decision-making and detailing without always reflecting this progression in up-to-the-minute visualisation and sampling. I think this was a struggle for them to understand at times, so we had to ensure we reassured them on that front.

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the Week

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

It was really satisfying seeing the client’s reaction to the finished project and the how well it was received by the public. As you can imagine they pulled out all the stops for the opening and the reaction from everyone was really positive right from the off. Creating displays for some true icons such as Steve McQueen’s Triumph TR6 from ‘The Great Escape’ was definitely a highlight – you don’t get much cooler that that!

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the Week

Why did you enter the SBID International Design Awards?

It was an award we had never entered before and as SBID has an international standing we thought it would be good to see how our work on the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience fared on an international stage.

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the Week

Questions answered by Ally Hickson, Senior 3D Designer at Studio MB

If you missed last week’s Project of the Week featuring the restoration of a dilapidated department store for an inspiring design practice, click here to see more.

We hope you feel inspired by this week’s public space design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire

Studio MB  | SBID International Design Awards

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the Week

Studio MB, Triumph Factory Visitor Experience public space design project images for SBID interior design blog, Project of the Week