As the 140-year-old building enters the final stages of a once-in-a-lifetime restoration, the Southern and Western facades of the Sydney Town Hall have been lined with eco-vinyl hoardings and the building has been draped in a life-like building wrap to conceal the much anticipated on-site conservation process.
Restoring a city gem
Plans to restore the iconic landmark and introduce sustainability elements began in 2012. In addition to restoring the clock tower, the sandstone will be polished, repaired and replaced with local Sydney sandstone to ensure the heritage building can be appreciated for many generations to come.
Great lengths have been taken to preserve the building in the heart of Sydney, and with good reason. Sydney Town Hall is the biggest and most ornate late 19th-century civic building in Australia. To embrace the magnitude of the project, the City of Sydney wanted signage that would be sustainable, informative and visually appealing while the temporary scaffolding surrounded the building.
Sustainable Signage
Since 2012, a pivotal component of the upgrade has been sustainability, a theme which has extended to the signage solutions. With over 10 years of expertise in the grand format printing space, Mesh Direct was approached to create signage solutions for the project that would be sustainable yet striking; grand signage to match a grand project.
For the first stage of the project Mesh Direct’s EcoVinyl was used to enclose the site as a sustainable hoarding solution. Eco Vinyl is composed of 100 per cent recyclable billboard skins while maintaining an excellent print quality. Collaborating with HBS Group and the City of Sydney, the hoardings detail the rich history of the building to inform passersby of the upgrade.
Once the hoardings were installed, the second stage of the project commenced: the building wrap. To ensure visual and structural success of the building wrap, Mesh Direct engineered innovative solutions on all fronts, from artwork design to installation. The artwork was created in stages to ensure a seamless visual experience notwithstanding the changing positions of the scaffolds as the project progressed. Once the artwork was approved, Mesh Direct began preparing for installation.
Mesh Direct chose to use fire-rated mesh with rated tie points and straps to ensure a fantastic print finish and a sturdy attachment to the building. Employing many anchoring points also guaranteed that the wrap could be installed with ease and endure high winds.
The final result is a seamless and breathtaking building wrap that adds to the magnitude of the building, rather than detracting from it. If you haven’t seen the building wrap, it’s not too late to have a glimpse at this exquisite life-like wrap.
See for yourself
Have a closer look at the final result in this video.
To find out more about Mesh Direct and the work they do please visit the website here. You can also find the full case study on the Sydney Town Hall here.
