Architects   and   Designers   use   many   techniques   to   accurately determine     heights,     depths     and     widths     of     buildings     without physically   measuring   them.   Counting   bricks   and   blocks,   striking ‘lines   of   sight’   to   distant   buildings,   adopting   basic   trigonometry   and using   existing   dwellings   around   the   perimeter   of   the   site   as   datum points   provided   much   of   the   key   information   required   to   paint   the bigger picture” Andrew Patrick - Creator of the BECO Building Site Presentation & Virtual Tour

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North    East    Architect,    Designer and      Visualiser,     Andy      Patrick initially    conceived    the    idea    to digitally      recreate      the      BECO Building     Site     film     set     having watched   the   Series   –   like   many fans   -   countless   times   since   its first airing in 1983. The     Building     Site     portrayed     as Düsseldorf   and   used   for   most   of   the Series    1    close    up    scenes    was    in fact    a    film    set    constructed    on    a relatively    small    2    acre    back-lot    at Elstree    Studios    in    Borehamwood, UK    currently    home    to    the    BBC’s EastEnders   film   set   Albert   Square. But   how   did   designers   convince   the viewer   our   magnificent   7   were   far from   British   soil   in   Germany?   And how    many    scenes    were    in    fact filmed here in the UK?  As   no   record   of   the   film   set   existed, Andy    proposed    to    mark    the    30th Anniversary   of   televisions   number   1 comedy    drama    series    by    digitally reproducing   the   famous   film   set   as accurately   and   faithfully   as   possible to       preserve       televisions       most famous construction site.

Having   ‘thrown   a   pencil’   around   a   blank   sheet   of   paper   during   one   cold   winters evening    in    January    2013,    Andy    mapped    the    positions,    locations    and orientations   of   the   film   set   buildings,   wooden   huts   and   ancillary   units.   It   soon became   apparent   almost   all   of   the   2   acre   back-lot   at   Elstree   Studios   had   been used   to   shoot   in   excess   of   120   individual   outdoor   scenes   under   the   guise   of our legendary Dusseldorf,  ‘BECO Building Site’ in Germany.

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Preliminary    visuals    generated    from    individual three-dimensional computer generated models

Andrew   with   legendary   Auf   Wiedersehen,   Pet   writer   Ian   Le   Frenais   at   the   30th   Anniversary celebrations at NewcastleGateshead Hilton Hotel

Above:Completed   Site   Plan   based   on   Ordnance   Survey   information   illustrating   the   film   set   in context with Elstree Studios backlot and surrounding residential properties

Following   9   months   frame   by   frame   analysis   and   scrutiny   of   behind   the   scenes photographs,    the    site    plan    was    reproduced    with    extreme    precision    and modelling each three-dimensional building commenced.

Above:   Initial   sketch   of   the   BECO   Building   Site      produced   by   Andy   which   would   pave   the   way to the faithful digital reproduction

Colin   Russell,   visited   the   outdoor   film-set   back   lot   many   times   during   his   time on Auf Wiedersehen, Pet as Crew ‘Rigger’ for the series.

                           I   thought   [Andrew’s]   German   Building   Site   /   back   lot presentation   was   remarkable....   the   CGI   tour   is   spot   on... from   memory   I   can’t   fault   the   position   of   where   you   have put   everything. Amazingly   the   houses   at   the   back,   and   the roof   of   the   Transport   Garage   and   the   Construction   Block bring it all to life, that's how I remember it”. Colin Russell – Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Crew ‘Rigger’ – Series 1 & 2.

The   BECO   Building   Site   Virtual   Tour   along   with   a   number   of   pieces of    artwork    were    first    previewed    at    Auf    Wiedersehen    Pet’s    30 ^th   Anniversary    Celebrations    on    21 ^st     September    2013    at    Newcastle Gateshead    Hilton    and    again    at    our    very    own    intimate    Fan    Site ‘Behind   the   Scenes   Fan   Gathering’   in   Whatton,   Nottingham   on   26 ^th   July 2014.

Auf         Wiedersehen,         Pets         30th Anniversary    Celebrations    ‘Back    with The   Boys   Again’   is   available   on   DVD now         featuring         the         evenings celebrations    including    cast    interviews, out-takes   and   bloopers   plus   previously unseen    footage    from    the    first    ever ‘Sunday   for   Sammy’   that   inspired   the shows triumphant return in 2002! Buy now whilst stocks last!