The Hub
Workington town centre
What is The Hub?
The Hub is a
new outdoor performance space at the heart of Workington town
centre where the four new shopping malls meet. The area has a
canopy overhead, incorporating lighting and state of the art
3D sound technology. The Hub's canopy, designed by BASE Structures in Bristol and
is suspended from the surrounding buildings. For more
information on The Hub structure and installation visit the
background information page.
View The Hub space now via our live
video feed.
What does The Hub do?
The Hub's 3D sound system can be configured to broadcast any
live or recorded sound, Allerdale Borough Council are
working in partnership with SoundWave as well as local performers
and organisations to programme and create new work to be
performed in the space in the future. More information on
SoundWave's involvement with The Hub can be found in The Hub
leaflet attached below.
What can I hear at The Hub?
Currently playing at The Hub is a two hour soundscape by
SoundWave of local groups and an hour of SoundLife by
Illustrious.
SoundWave composition has been created by
local artists and community groups as part of SoundWave's programme
of 'Transformation Through Music', and includes local young
musicians, professional and amateur groups, field recordings and an
Indonesian gamelan orchestra.
SoundLife is a unique three-dimensional
surround sound composition created by Illustrious Company
(Martyn Ware and Vince Clarke) incorporating recordings made in and
around Workington, combined with historical archived material to
create a subtle but beautiful immersive sound experience.
Sounds will drift invisibly around visitors to The Hub,
creating a contemplative experience about the people, places and
atmospheres that help to make Workington the unique location that
it has always been.
Recordings that feature in SoundLife include sounds of
manufacturing, the steelworks, reminiscences of local people
including the famous ‘Uppies and Downies’ game, bingo halls, rugby
league training, children’s nursery rhymes, rare and beautiful
instruments from the Helena Thompson Museum, church bells ringing,
the sounds of the local countryside, the docks, skateboarding,
markets, amateur dramatics, wind turbines and local
musicians.
Listen to a sample of the
soundscape 'Soundlife' by Illustrious Company
What is the best way to listen to The Hub?
- In order to get the best listening experience
to the 3D sound of The Hub stand in the centre of the space inside
the benches
- You will get different listening experiences
around the space so try moving to see how the sound changes around
you
- The sound will be different if you are
sitting on a bench as you will mainly hear what is being played out
of the speaker below the bench you are sitting on rather than the
complete 3D experience
- As the sound is played towards the centre of
the space listening outside of the circle of benches may not give
you the best experience and you could struggle to hear many of the
sounds at all
- The soundscape being played is intended to be
ambient; this means it should not be very loud and obvious but that
the sounds are like any background sounds you might normally hear
in a space.
Please note that as the background noise
levels at The Hub will vary depending on how many people are in the
space, the louder the background noise the harder it will be to
hear parts of the soundscape as it will blend in. If you want
to hear the soundscape clearly try visiting The Hub while the space
is quieter such as late afternoon.
How can I book to use The Hub and Hub
space?
The Hub can be used for live events, performances,
commercial promotions or it is possible to commission a
soundscape to be added to The Hub programme. For more
information on booking The Hub please visit The Hub booking information page
How can I find out more?
Please view the background
information page. The Hub leaflet also has
further images of The Hub, a section on SoundWave and more
information on how to get involved. See attachment below.
You can also find out more about the artists by
visiting the websites listed below.