The project
Our Grosvenor Waterside project transformed a derelict former industrial site into a new urban quarter featuring close to 300 apartments, a restaurant and bar, all set within a landscaped garden.
The metallic cladding system is etched in a design developed by British artist Clare Woods, transforming the riverfront building into a canvas for a monumental public art work.
The model
The model is one of our largest and most intricate to date, taking a whopping three months to complete. The 9mm MDF base is covered in 3mm of acrylic. The buildings are made from 6mm acrylic pieces fixed together with dichloromethane, and the floorplates and walls interlock around a frosted acrylic lightbox at the core.
The tree-inspired pattern etched onto the facade using our Trotech laser engraver is the same pattern found on the actual building. The 0.25mm brass balcony railings, handrails and fences were made by metal-etching specialists PPD.
The challenges
The test for our model-maker Alex’s skill and patience was in fitting the intricate balconies and approximately 2,000 windows individually cut from Perspex.
The balcony railings were each glued to tiny apertures in the acrylic balcony structures. Getting these to stick perfectly in place and at the correct angle, using tweezers, was no easy feat.
Alex visited the site to ensure he had a good understand of the buildings, their palette and the landscaping. As always, it is important the colours used are as close to the real thing as possible, even if that means reflecting the greyish Thames water, rather than opting for a more alluring Caribbean blue!