More pride in poole
Client:Penson
Project:Bus station redesign
Role:Print, manufacture and installation
A year ago, Poole thought itself a dive. Hard to believe perhaps for outsiders, but if you read the Daily Echo, you will have tasted the disappointment of a town at its drab, dirty and intimidating old bus station.
With the possible exception of a highway underpass, there can be few more charmless scenes than an urban bus station.
The age of steam which saw fortunes lavished on the architecture of railway stations, gave way to the age of diesel, and a generation in which concrete seemed to be the only building material available to boroughs hell-bent on modernisation.
Forty years on, and spurred on by the prospect of a surge in visitors to the town during the 2012 olympics, Poole was shamed into action.
Penson's scheme to brighten up the terminus centres on a 1000 square metres of panels to form a giant snaking ceiling mural.
Having unsuccessfully tried other ideas, Penson turned to NES to realise its vision. Due to the complexity of the layout and the need for a seamless fit and finish, vinyl graphics or conventional panels would not work.
NES suggested aluminium composite material (ACM) as a solution. The advantage with the material is that NES is able to print directly to the surface of the substrate and guarantee the finish. With accurate plans from an independent laser survey, the team was able to design, print and manufacture more than 400 panels accurately.
The finish is exactly as the architects intended, and pound for pound, offers outstanding visual entertainment value to a tired old terminus.