Artem return to the Crystal Maze after a decade

Artem, the London-based creative effects and innovative solutions company, recently designed and built the iconic glass dome for the return of The Crystal Maze.

The reincarnated Crystal Maze – based on the cult 90s TV show which ran for six seasons – will return as a live immersive experience in central London this March. 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. 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 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.

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.”

Artem has been at the forefront of physical builds and SFX over the last three decades. Today, with workshops in West London and in Glasgow, Artem continues to serve as a one-stop-shop for television, film and advertising alongside live events, exhibitions and retail display industries. The creative effects and innovative solutions team can provide props, atmospherics, prosthetics, models and miniatures, pyrotechnics, mechanical rigs, animatronics, special costume and huge media builds.

Among a vast portfolio of projects, last year, Artem created an underwater garden set and a flying tandem and sidecar for Take That’s 2015 Arena Tour.

The company was also the largest single contractor of the London 2012 Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies, providing a huge range of contributions, from giant puppets to a 50m inflatable octopus (which emerged out of a period-style bus built from scratch).

  Agency News, Artem, Entertainment, PR, Props, Set Design, SFX, The Crystal Maze, TV Show, UK