10 Downing Street Virtual Tour – The Brief
We were commissioned to create a 10 Downing Street virtual tour to give the public a unique glimpse inside No. 10 Downing Street. No. 10 Downing Street is the Prime Minister’s residence and workplace. With its distinctive blackened bricks and glossy black door, it’s one of the UK’s most instantly recognisable buildings. Number Ten was designed by renowned architect, Sir Christopher Wren, in the 17th Century.
The Prime Minister changes, and, along with a new PM, the decor in the study, the portraits on the wall and other alterations to the building take place. Thus the 360 tour would also act as an historic archive, a snapshot of Downing Street at a particular moment in time.
The Challenges
One of the biggest challenges on this project was the requirement to make the virtual tours W3C AAA compliant – the highest possible grade of accessibility. To our knowledge this had never been achieved for a virtual tour before. This did mean some compromises on the way the photography could be displayed, and programming the interface was a very involved process. However, it was fantastic that the client was keen to ensure that everyone could look inside 10 Downing Street.
The shoots were undertaken while the building was in use, and we had to be sensitive about clearing and preparing each room to be shot – having to melt into the background as Gordon Brown swept past being one memorable example.
Security was obviously of great concern and our retouchers had to ensure that views through windows were indistinct and all security features were removed.
The Execution
The virtual tour lets you stand right outside the famous Number 10 door, taking in the view up and down Downing Street, which is closed to the public. You can take a closer look at the black bricks – these are no longer blackened by London smog but were artificially blackened after the 1960s renovation as people had grown so used to seeing them as black.
Over several years we have created a number of 360 virtual tours. All of these can be viewed in fullscreen for the best visual experience. Each 360 had its own section. Thus you can click pop-ups to discover more about the features in the rooms. Discover more about details such as Pitt the Younger’s desk or the straw-carrying thatcher carved into the plasterwork, commissioned by Margaret Thatcher. Zoom in to see the detail, such as the Union Flag which was carried to the moon and back by Apollo 11!
The Results for 10 Downing Street
Then Prime Minister David Cameron was exceedingly complimentary about the photography when we attended the launch of the new No. 10 website.
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
“For the recent redesign of the Number 10 website we wanted to update our 360 degree tour. Eye Revolution worked with us to redesign the look and feel of the tour and provided new photography for a number of rooms and outside Downing Street. We are very happy with the end result. The photography brings the building to life and Eye Revolution worked with professionalism and speed to turn the photography around at very short notice for us to meet a deadline.”
We hope you enjoy viewing the 10 Downing Street virtual tours as much as we have enjoyed creating them.
While you’re here, why not check out some of our other virtual tours? There are many iconic locations on display. These range from palaces and stately homes to cathedrals, from epic landscapes to Dr Who’s tardis.
If you’ve got a virtual tour project you’d like to talk about, please do get in touch – we’d be delighted to hear from you!