Real Ideas (Real Ideas Organisation)

Founded in 2007, Real Ideas is a social enterprise that offers a range of services including consultancy, project delivery, research, training, and qualifications, all designed to empower others to transform their world. Real Ideas applies creative solutions to a range of issues – solving social problems, changing spaces, breathing life into old buildings, creating new networks and customers, and igniting activity and energy. Examples of current work include: Game Changer Cornwall; acting as the Bridge organisation for the Arts Council in the South West; Creative Traineeships; and Start Something – their own enterprise support programme.

In the financial year 2020/21 the company’s turnover was £5.1 million.

Project facts

Client: Real Ideas

Location: Plymouth

Design team: 

• Architects – Le Page
• Contractors – Classic Builders SW Ltd
• Engineers – Clarkebond
• Quantity surveyor/Project manager – Ward Williams
• Mechanical and electrical design – Hoare Lea
• Aesthetic lead consultants and interior design – Hemmingway Designs
• Dome designers – Gaia Nova

Build time: 26 months, including during the Covid-19 pandemic; work started on site in March 2019 and completed in May 2021.

Overall cost: £7.6 million

• £394,000 DCMS Capital Kickstart
• £1 million Chancellor of the Exchequer
• £488,000 Unlocking Growth
• £2.5 million Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)
• £403,000 Section 106
• £3.2 million European Regional Development Fund

Procurement strategy

Having initially used the SW Construction Framework, but following unsuccessful negotiations with the preferred bidder, Real Ideas ran their own EU compliant procurement process that led to the appointment of the design team described above. Separate, but equally robust, procurement processes were used to appoint Hemingway Design and Gaia Nova.

General description of works

The works involved the restoration, redevelopment, and extension of a historic 1856, former fruit and veg market hall covering 22,500 square feet. The resulting building features 3,000 square feet of bespoke, quality co-working, meeting and workshop space, an events space with seating for up to 120 people and an expo capacity of 600, with multiple adjoining breakout spaces. Laid out over two double-height floors, the space is designed for flexible open plan and cellular co-working areas, as well as places to meet and gather informally. There is also a 360 production suite and large café bar. The extension houses an impressive flat-floored, 360 immersive dome, 15 metres in diameter.

Case study

Through their capital project, Real Ideas re-imagined an important local heritage building. The space now combines traditional elements with state-of-the-art immersive technology. Its new cultural form gives it a distinctive future within the redeveloped historic Devonport area of Plymouth.

The Devonport area has suffered from high unemployment until recently and is classed as an area of deprivation. Significant new housing development has been taking place in this part of Plymouth; the Market Hall’s physical location lends itself to cementing connections in the local neighbourhood. The project was also seen to add to regeneration efforts by providing opportunities for skills development and employment, and an intention to connect a pipeline of talent running from primary schools to secondary schools, further and higher education and industry.

Partnership commitments

The project’s success was in large part determined by the long-term partnership model behind it. Partnership encompassed considerably more than just financial support, with the model facilitating a high value exchange of know-how, risk-management, expertise and strategic awareness within a broader city-wide context.

Real Ideas worked closely with the Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Team at Plymouth City Council. The project involved an asset transfer from Plymouth City Council to Real Ideas for a 125-year full repairing lease; the first five years are rent free with a peppercorn rent for the remaining term. The two organisations had road-tested the process of asset transfer and successful redevelopment with the Devonport Guildhall, a different site which opened in 2013. As well as having capacity and expertise, a further demonstrable benefit Real Ideas offered the council as a social enterprise was the ability to hold a level of risk different to that of the local authority; this was a real advantage given the boldness of the vision for the Market Hall.

The University of Plymouth is the other key partner, both in the development of the design and in contributing to the talent pipeline for the newly refurbished building. Their collaboration with Real Ideas goes back over many years, featuring a range of creative technology projects, as well as early engagement work in 2012 with schools, business, and community groups to explore designs for Devonport regeneration. Like Real Ideas, they were keen to build and be part of a cluster of innovative, creative enterprises and activities for attracting and retaining talent, providing a strong habitat for start-up businesses, and making visible the city’s international partnerships and global reach.

City College Plymouth and Devonport High School for Boys were also partners in the project, and City College Plymouth are now regular users and collaborators.

Shared drivers for the project can be summarised as:

• The need to find a future for the derelict Market Hall which was falling into disrepair but had the potential to play a key role in the regeneration of Devonport.
• The long-term alignment of interests between Real Ideas and Plymouth University, including the Institute for Digital Art and Technology (i-DAT) and a shared ambition to make visible and build on the global excellence in immersive technology that already existed in Plymouth and the far South West.
• The desire to capitalise on innovation, digital technologies and culture as local strengths, and an interest in connecting this more effectively with innovation in other spheres. The building is located immediately adjacent to the region’s enterprise zone at South Yard, the new marine industries research, innovation, production and deployment site.
• The ongoing changing approach within the city that started following an unsuccessful bidding process for City of Culture, including collaborative activity through Mayflower 400 and British Art Show 9. There is a deeper collective sense of how the narrative of place can be enhanced through culture, alongside a sense of pride and distinctiveness and a growing confidence borne out of other successful local projects.

A first in Europe

While the intention of the capital project was always to create a top quality facility for digital and technological innovation, the actual form of this evolved over the period in which designs and plans developed. Early proposals were centred around gaming, but as the production and distribution of 360 filming became cheaper, better and more accessible, the plans for the space developed and building the best immersive dome in the world was seen to be a considerable opportunity for a space that had public engagement at its heart.

The Market Hall immersive dome is a first of its kind in Europe and one of only two, similar domes in the world; the other one can be found at SAT (Société des Arts Technologiques) in Montreal, Canada. However, the technology at the Market Hall is cutting edge; just two projectors cover the full surface of the dome, creating a seamless shared virtual reality experience without the need for a headset.

Lindsey Hall, Real Ideas’ Chief Executive, acknowledges that the decision to include a dome was bold, but a visit to the Canadian dome was persuasive: “When I went there, when I had that moment of walking in, I realised it was something so extraordinary, so unique. It was something we had to do and I do think you need something bold to achieve anything truly regenerative. As a ‘one of a kind’, it acts as a magnet, a reason to come to Devonport.”

A balanced business model

Real Ideas’ overall business model required the Devonport Market Hall to be sustainable financially – it could never be simply an interesting experiment in immersive technology. Its revenue generation activity combines:

• Cinema style dome screenings – 27,665 tickets sold to date – plus activities and events.
• Hires and hosting of major conferences and ceremonies such as the Tech South West Awards and Full Dome UK.
• Services to over 4,700 Real Ideas’ members whose benefits include access to the co-working spaces, meet-ups and specialist facilities.

The first year of operation was deliberately structured to test out a range of activities and identify which had most traction. Lindsey recalls how anticipatory audience development work paid off: “We ran the Illuminate festival of light, which included the Market Hall Dome, and did a lot of work with young people ahead of opening. But having started plenty of ventures in the past, I can say this has been one of the easiest things to attract people to.” Part of Real Ideas’ challenge was that responses in the first 12 months were so positive across a wider range of activities that the capacity to deliver was challenging.

The organisation applies its ‘triple bottom line return’ test to the prioritisation exercise –  whereby potential and ultimate success is judged against a combination of social, creative and financial measures. As Lindsey explains, “A non-negotiable for us was that the Market Hall was engaging for all our different communities.” This means that commercially driven activities are matched by, for example, workshops and visits for many local schools as well as out of school activities, including junior tech clubs which have seen heavy demand. The venue is also a hub for local start-ups and creative businesses and it provides artists with genuine opportunities to experiment with emerging technologies as part of producing and presenting new work.

Green shoots

Lindsey describes early successes as a series of “green shoots” which suggest that the game plan is working. Real Ideas are noticing that the demographic characteristics of visitors are very broad, with a strong presence from the hyperlocal and local communities but also evidence of interest from further afield including international visitors. Enquiries are coming from a broad range of makers and potential users of the spaces with signs of gaining a foothold among a cluster of immersive technology companies and start-ups, local businesses and projects in other sectors.

The building was awarded the top Chair’s Prize in the Planning Excellence 2022 awards by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) in the South West. The judgement explained, “It was a bold move, bringing entertainment, culture, technology and learning together and it has helped to develop an impressive tech cluster around immersive and creative digital. It also happens to be great fun.”

As an organisation constantly looking forward, Real Ideas are already asking themselves how to propel the offer to the next level, especially within a difficult economic context. As Lindsey puts it, “Yes, we have created an innovative offer but how do you stay ahead of that? We are clearly making it work as it is, but what else is coming, what else is around the corner? The evolution of technology is at heart of it – what potential does it offer for change? How do we make sure it is used in ways that are democratic? It means that there’s never a moment when I think ‘we have done it.’”

Need this information in a different format? Get in touch.