TV’s Crystal Maze has returned as an interactive experience in London
The cult 90s TV show, Crystal Maze, is returning as a live immersive experience in central London this month, having been reincarnated by movie special effects and solutions company Artem.
Four competing teams of eight players will be guided through four adventure time zones and tested on a variety of personal and team skills before entering the Crystal Dome where their final and most important challenge takes place.
To create the 4.5m diameter glass dome – featuring a faceted, hinged door, a letter box to collect contestants’ tokens and a computer controlled fan system – Artem welded together laser cut CNC steel to form a geodesic structure before the facets were glazed with toughened glass.
CNC laser cut steel framework being assembled to form the Crystal Dome
The interior was then fitted with a set of steps, a handrail encircling the floor area and vents for air jets, designed to blow tokens into the air. This final structure was based on initial SolidWorks CAD drawings featuring renders of the aesthetic and construction details.
Artem were delighted to work on the project, having conceived, designed and built the show’s adventure zone games for the original Crystal Maze TV series.
From the second series, Artem also provided floor effects, including smoke and pyrotechnics, and were responsible for maintaining the crucial fan system inside the Dome.
Rendering the final design before physical production began
Artem co-founder Simon Tayler, supervised the project and also worked on the TV series. Tayler says: “We’re thrilled to be involved with the Crystal Maze again after so many years. We have enjoyed the challenge of designing a fan system within the dome that is more self-sustaining than the TV show original – a system that can run up to 32 times a day without any major resetting.”
We visited Artem last summer to get an idea of all the incredible work they’ve done – from props and prosthetics, to huge mechanical rigs and big explosions. Read about it here.
