The Valley of the Kings
eMakhosini is in the eMakhosini Ophathe Heritage Park and known as ‘The Valley of the Kings’. Located in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, eMakhosini is of significant historical significance and is considered sacred as it is the burial place of several early isiZulu Kings. It is also in close proximity to Mgungundlovu, the royal residence of King Dingane, and kwaMatiwane, the site where Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and his men were killed and buried. Situated on 24 000 hectares of protected land, the eMakhosini Ophathe Heritage Park is home to historical finds including tools from the Stone Age and evidence of interactions between San and settlers dating back 1 500 years.
3D Landscape
During the planning phase of the visitor centre, whilst working on an audio-visual approach for Amafa Heritage, we suggested to replace a 3D scenic model of the valley with a “blank” 3D landscape onto which we would project information relating to the sites of significance, fauna and flora, historical events, and tourism. This was no small task as no digital topographical maps existed of the area, with the only option being to scan paper maps and trace them into CAD software, creating our own 3D model that could be machined out of solid wood on a 3-axis CNC.
Three short throw projectors
Scaled down from some 26km x 17km, the table is served by three short throw projectors that use mirrors to fold the image directly down. Users engage with two touch monitors along the side edge of the table to trigger content. For the content part of this project, we handled all image research, filmed content and photography whilst the playback software, mapping, and UI was built by long-time collaborators, Pixel Project.
