PRESS RELEASE
26.02.2016
Bringing politics closer to the people
State Parliament of NRW offers new visitor attraction
The state parliament of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) in Düsseldorf has updated and expanded its services for visitors. The state parliament building is now open at weekends as well and invites the public to come along and experience political processes at first hand. The staging of the visitor centre has been conceived by ATELIER BRÜCKNER.
A large-format panoramic projection of a film is the first thing that attracts the visitors’ attention. It makes them want to find out more about North-Rhine Westphalia, its variegated landscapes, its rich history and the many different kinds of people who live there. Visitors immediately find themselves right in the middle of things. They become immersed in everyday life there and are familiarised with the political tasks performed by the NRW state parliament. From the perspective of a delegate, they can observe the multi-faceted process of legislation, presented comprehensibly with strong images.
Following the ten-minute-long film, a flowing 'carpet of knowledge' made up of animated letters of the alphabet spreads out on the blue, wall-high 240-degree screen. Out of this carpet several topics materialise. Projected catchphrases and icons awaken people's desire to find out more by using eight media stations positioned in front of the screen. When they touch one of the back-lit plexiglass sculptures or special buttons, animated graphic film sequences appear, providing more detailed information. At the media station “The People and State of NRW” for example, they can choose from topics like population, traffic, education, economy, culture or honory office and find out, that North-Rhine Westphalia is the most populous of the German states, possesses more than 5000 football clubs and has the tightest theatre landscape as well as the largest inland harbour on the continent, in Duisburg.
Other topics are "The Parliament and its Tasks", "The Delegates", "Legislation" and, under the title "The Parliament on the Rhine", the state parliament building itself. At the media station "Committee Week", visitors can draw up a delegate's fictional plan for the week and, at the "Parliament Quiz" station, can then check their newly acquired knowledge.
During the week, the media stations are lowered into the floor and the hall is used for presentations and lectures. The visitor service then offers guided tours and can project individual items of information on the panoramic screen.
Anyone interested can register for the guided tours by phone at the number +49 211 884 2955 (Visitor Service). At the weekend, registration in advance is not necessary. The opening times are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Entry is free of charge.
The visitor centre in the NRW state parliament building is part of an overall concept aimed at expansion of the information that is provided to visitors. Also in the anniversary year of 2016, when the federal state and the state parliament of North-Rhine Westphalia celebrate the parliament's 70th birthday, the Villa Horion in Düsseldorf is going to be opened. ATELIER BRÜCKNER is designing an exhibition there on seven decades of the state parliament's history.
CONTACT
ATELIER BRÜCKNER GmbH
Claudia Luxbacher, Press and Communication
T. +49 711 5000 77 126
presse(at)atelier-brueckner.com
www.atelier-brueckner.com
Contact of the NRW state parliament:
Wibke Busch
Public Relations, Deputy Press Officer
Platz des Landtags 1
40221 Düsseldorf | Germany
T. +49 0211 884-2324
F. +49 211 884-2250
wibke.busch(at)landtag.nrw.de
www.landtag.nrw.de