The Music Box multi-storey car park in Hayes is part of a major development project on a site with a rich heritage of British music. When designing the facade for the car park, the architects wanted to pay tribute to the former factory buildings and achieved this by using RMIG ImagePerf to recreate an iconic photograph of a remarkable period in popular music history.
A major development project has been carried out on a former factory site in Hayes, Middlesex. The site is steeped in music history dating back over 100 years, as it once housed the Gramophone Company factory, the renowned HMV record label and the famous EMI record pressing plant, which manufactured records for some of the most legendary names in British music, such as The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. The site has now very fittingly been renamed The Old Vinyl Factory in honour of its record pressing past.
The redeveloped area now comprises art deco office buildings, new homes, restaurants, shops, a gym, cinema and a live music venue, making this a diverse community of living and working areas, as well as retail and entertainment facilities. The architects at Studio Egret West saw this as a new beginning for the site, bringing it into the digital age and yet still embracing its incredible heritage.
An eye-catching and durable facade
As part of the development, a multi-storey car park was constructed to cover the needs of the area. The car park was designed by Studio Egret West and consists of seven parking levels, providing a total of 424 parking bays. The car park also has an electrical substation with 96 vehicle charging points.
When designing a multi-storey car park, it is important to keep in mind the need for sufficient ventilation and lighting. To meet this challenge, it was decided that the steel frame structure of the car park should be clad in perforated metal, ensuring both adequate air and light, and at the same time creating an aesthetically attractive facade. RMIG, world leader in perforation, manufactured and supplied the perforated metal sheets for the project, and using their City Emotion concept, gave the facade a unique feature.
Famous image recreated
RMIG ImagePerf is part of the RMIG City Emotion concept and presents elegant and innovative solutions to the challenges of architectural design. RMIG ImagePerf converts perforated metal into a ‘projection screen’ for art, photographs, illustrations and graphic designs.
In keeping with the theme of both The Old Vinyl Factory and the Music Box car park itself, it was decided that for the west side of the facade, a photograph of screaming fans at a Beatles concert should be reproduced using RMIG ImagePerf technology. Using various hole sizes, it was possible to transfer and enlarge this amazing image, ensuring that it will be enjoyed by many for years to come.
Secondary operation and time-saving process
RMIG’s experience and expertise were invaluable for a project of this kind. More than 1,000 perforated sheets covering an area of 3,500 m² were manufactured for the facade using 2.5 mm thick sendzimir galvanised steel. The sheets were subsequently powder coated, making them durable and weather resistant.
In addition to the picture perforation and powder coating, RMIG was also responsible for bending and numbering the perforated metal sheets in order to make them ready for delivery and to ensure a time-saving process when installing the facade panels.
Facts box
- Raw material: Sendzimir galvanised steel
- Pattern: RMIG ImagePerf
- Thickness: 2.5 mm
- Surface treatment: Powder coating
- Finishing operation: Bending
- Perforated area: 3,500 m²
- Architect: Studio Egret West
Innovative solutions and a quality partnership
With RMIG City Emotion, architects can realise their visions and urban design concepts, and convert them into real solutions for buildings and interiors by utilising perforated and expanded metal products for various applications. RMIG offers a professional and reliable partnership with expert advice through all stages of a building project.
For further information www.city-emotion.com, email: info.uk(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)rmig.com or tel: 01925 839607