IKEA’s new Central London store is due to open later this year
Larger than life
When it comes to building wraps, these challenges are often magnified. Add in other tests and trials including the application’s constant exposure to the elements and the sheer scale of these pieces, and it makes this work all the more impressive.
With this in mind, SignLink takes the opportunity to pay a special tribute to those companies active in this sector and showcases some of their most recent work.
Meatballs And More
First up is the aptly named Embrace Building Wraps, which has worked on a wide range of projects all across the UK. Among its most recent applications was a creative project that it carried out in partnership with furniture store IKEA.
Embrace produced a large, printed wrap to cover scaffolding during works to transform the former Topshop location at Oxford Circus into a small IKEA store, its second location in Central London that is due to open before the end of the year. What made this project so unique was the design of the wrap, which was made to look like a giant version of one of IKEA’s iconic FRAKTA blue bags.
Embrace’s IKEA building wrap was installed at London’s busy Oxford Circus
The installation comprises six fully engineered offset frames provided by Embrace. Five of these carry a silhouette line drawing of the building itself, complete with the Westminster City Council street nameplates in their original positions. The final banner section replicates the giant blue FRAKTA bag with three dimensional handles.
The project required 1,000 linear metres of scaffold tubes for the offset frames and uprights, and 2,400sq m of scaffold wraps, printed on PVC-free Kavalan Sunlight Weldable. In total, the wrap covered an area equivalent of 44 double-decker buses, while the bag handles measure up to 32m long and 1.8m wide.
Greg Forster, managing director at Embrace, comments: “Working at such an iconic location for IKEA has been a blast. Once again, we have been appointed to deliver a spectacular installation.
“We provided our full project management service from creative design for the building silhouette design, on-site co-ordination with the main contractor McLaren to the print and install, working closely with the scaffolding contractor TRAD. We are especially delighted that the FRAKTA bag and handle really pops out and will get the conversation going both on and offline.”
We are especially delighted that the FRAKTA bag and handle really pops out and will get the conversation going both on and offline”
Last year, Embrace also won heavy praise for a project carried out as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. This involved creating a large-scale, 4,000sq m printed building wrap on the SBQ Building Smallbrook Queensway, a Grade B locally listed, six-storey 1960s brutalist property that is 230m long.
The wrap was produced to cover renovation work taking place at the building ahead of the Games to cover up unsightly construction work, while at the same time promoting the city’s status as the host of the Games.
The piece was printed on Embrace’s Durst 512R Plus 5m-wide inkjet printer, which prints up to 1200 dpi, using Ollinks ink. The wrap was created using Mesh PVC SeeMee Supreme B3124 and materials were welded together using a Forsstrom 8-TDW.
Such was the success of the project that Embrace won the Gold Award in the Construction Category at the UK Graphics Awards in 2022.
“Due to the scale of the largest printed wrap, it was not practical to use one giant banner, so we accurately split the install into seven smaller banners, each one measuring around 427sq m,” Forster explains.
“To mask the vertical perimeter detail and ties, our experts used tried-and-tested printed 500mm cover strips with heavy duty Velcro so that the install almost looks like one seamless wrap.
“Another consideration on the complex front elevation was the need to precisely accommodate 49 external lights. Each light fitting measured 2m wide by 500mm high and needed to remain in-situ, protruding smartly through the printed wraps. Embrace accommodated these with a series of perfectly placed envelope-style slits with eyelets created in advance in the factory.
“Once the wrap was guided over the light fittings during installation the slits were secured back with cable ties.”
Bringing History To Life
Next, another UK specialist company in this market is MacroArt, which has worked on iconic buildings such as Wembley Stadium. Earlier this year, the company took on a job at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill, and a venue MacroArt has worked with on a number of major applications.
MacroArt’s 280sq m mural installation at Blenheim Palace was created to cover repair work on Flagstaff Tower
The project, the largest of the partnership to date, involved a 280sq m mural installation to cover essential repairs being made to the Flagstaff Tower. The wrap’s design featured an amalgamation of art created by 30 budding artists from across Oxford, aged between eight and 25.
The design was created as part of Blenheim’s partnership with local charity Oxfordshire Youth. The finished mural combined drawings, digital imagery, and text such as poetry, with MacroArt bringing it to life by printing the large piece on its Durst 512R and stitching it together prior to installation.
O Factoid: Blenheim Palace, which MacroArt produced a mural for and one of England’s largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722 O
MacroArt’s group account director, Mike Hamling, comments: “This is a new high for our partnership with Blenheim Palace. Not only is it our biggest installation to date with them, but it is also fantastic to support such a great cause that is Oxfordshire Youth. Witnessing young artists take inspiration from seeing their designs now in situ.
“Our team worked so hard to bring this to life and I think we’ve created something that we can all be very proud of.”
Samantha Vaughan, marketing manager at Blenheim Palace, adds; “What a wonderful project this was! We are extremely delighted with the outcome; our entrance is definitely a showstopper and we couldn’t have done this without the team at MacroArt helping to create this bold and vibrant artwork.”
Celebrating Musical Royalty
Heading state-side now and Minuteman Press Nashville used its HP Latex 360 printer to help produce a set of striking graphics for a major exterior front of house full vinyl wrap project at the Grand Ole Opry House, an iconic music venue located near to its facility in Tennessee.
The Grand Ole Opry House is regarded as one of the most legendary music venues in the US, having played host to household names such as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash. Minuteman Press Nashville has worked with the venue on a number of projects during their ten-year partnership, though its most recent building wrap initiative stood out in particular.
The venue approached the company to help refresh the building’s exterior with eye-catching images of singers who have performed at the hall. However, one of the main challenges of the project was the surface of the building in that it is stamped concrete, made to look like a rough-cut cedar wooden surface with deep woodgrain. There was also more than a half-inch difference between the faux planks, making installation trickier than standard building wrap jobs.
Minuteman Press Nashville printed the graphics in-house on its HP Latex 360 large-format machine, printed onto 3M IJ-480 Vinyl and laminated with 3M 8520 Matte Overlaminate using a GBC roll laminator. Outdoor graphics printed using the HP Latex 360 can last for up to five years when laminated.
“The exterior, as all large branding projects do, began with an intense set of measurements and a write-up of all inclusions and challenges with the surfaces,” Minuteman Press Nashville owner, John Taylor comments.
“We then created an Illustrator template for their art department, advising on the best practices and highlighting any areas to which they should pay special attention during design.
“I’m extremely happy with the job. I really am humbled and honoured to be given the opportunity. Now, for the less-than-humble perspective; it was an intense scope of work – and we got the job done! We’ve had only positive feedback about this installation and people are loving the new face of the Grand Ole Opry House.”
London Calling
On the subject of iconic structures, back in the UK, Ocean Outdoor recently secured planning consent to erect a purpose-built sleeve around London’s Marble Arch. The primary aim of the initiative is to generate funding for an English Heritage restoration project at the 19th Century arch.
Full wraps will cover Marble Arch while restoration work takes place at the historic monument
Coverings will be designed to illustrate the three main gated arches of the 14-metre-tall structure it surrounds. In total, out-of-home displays at the site will comprise six arches and four panels, with these facing traffic and pedestrians on either side of the intersection. The wraps will only remain in place while restoration works take place.
The first brand to take advantage of the new advertising opportunity was Vodafone, which used the location to celebrate its designation as Best in London by European network testing agency NET CHECK.
The Vodafone campaign ran for four weeks, with the six arches and four panels of Marble Arch transformed to feature hoarding with Vodafone's distinctive red branding. Revenue from the advertising opportunity will be going towards the conservation project.
Maria Koutsoudakis, Vodafone’s UK head of brand, comments: “We are incredibly excited to be the first brand to take an OOH [out-of-home] spot on the new Marble Arch advertising sleeve to recognise our reliable, award-winning network being named ‘Best in London’. This unique opportunity at Marble Arch is the perfect way to celebrate, allowing us to give back to London by playing a part in supporting the conservation of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.”
Ocean Outdoor UK chief executive Phil Hall, adds: “This has been one of the most ambitious installations we have ever undertaken and to get it right required a monumental collaboration from all the partners involved. Ocean is privileged to be able to offer this unique advertising opportunity and I can’t think of a better launch partner than Vodafone to mark its Best in London award.”
This is just a small selection of some of the excellent work carried out by forward-thinking companies within this sector. With new ideas being tried out all the time and businesses continuing to push the boundaries, we can look forward to even more innovation in building wrap production.
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