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Andy joined Carpenter Oak & Woodland in 2005, to help the company provide a greater focus on customer service, marketing and sales. Andy’s background is varied indeed – helping him to bring a wide range of skills to the team. An avid lover of carpentry, Andy has also spent time in furniture restoration and conservation – something he still enjoys as a hobby.
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If you watched the BBC’s recent remake (well, more of a ‘reimagining’ than a remake to be honest) of the classic 1970’s drama Survivors, you may have been struck by some of the location shooting.
It’s clearly not easy to shoot a post-apocalyptic drama in a busy town – the hundreds of people tend to give the game away – although Manchester city centre, part of the Rossendale Valley in Lancashire and The Trafford Centre featured extensively.
Another location also featured – probably more than any other – and that was the Earth Centre at Doncaster. This location was used by ex-Government minister Samantha Willis to create a new community, with her as the leader.
The huge timber framed solar canopy
The reason I mention this is that part of the Earth Centre was constructed by Carpenter Oak & Woodland – we were responsible for building the dramatic solar canopy, which featured in many of the outdoor shots. The canopy is huge – over 1,300 square metres – and it’s not just to keep the rain out. It was, at the time, Europe’s largest flat-foot photovoltaic installation, capable of generating 80,000 kilowatts of electricity per year.
And that’s one of the things that actually made the Earth Centre a smart choice for the survivors – while the rest of humanity’s leftovers were scavenging in empty cities and towns, with no power infrastructure, any survivors at the Earth Centre could certainly enjoy life a little bit more, taking power from the sky.
The canopy under construction
Sadly, the Earth Centre was not a commercial success, and it closed in 2004, after only being open around 3 years. The Centre was used in 2007, to house refugees from the floods whose homes had been damaged, and we understand that the location has now been acquired for use as a skirmish site.
It’s something of a shame, as the Earth Centre was a real showcase for many technologies that we really need to be thinking far more seriously about – such as sustainable energy. But, for us, it was still great to see it feature in what was one of the most successful dramas of 2008.
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