The Liverpool Street project is a mixed use commercial and retail space with our works spanning interior and exterior spaces. Elements of this work were completed inside the atrium of the main commercial offices, 100 Liverpool street, and there are areas in the outside retail space that join with the train station. 100 Liverpool Street was a unique project where we overcame key challenges to deliver a fantastic end result of curved walls and ceilings.

The curved and complex design of wall and ceiling panels across the Liverpool street project presented us with some unique challenges. Different moulds were required across the projects as all of the ceiling panels were variously curved and shaped, the wall panels were curved, recessed and some were designed to house shelving or seating. Due to the intricacy of the ceiling design, we had to produce a 3D model to make the moulds so we could see how the various curved shapes would come together and understand how they would be hung to the ceiling prior to production.

The flaw-free finish design that was required on the GRC panels did not need to acid etch the panels and we were unable to sand away any imperfections, meaning the panels had to come out of the moulds perfectly the first time. To ensure they came out defect free first time we had to ensure that the GRC mixes we were using were just right so that all the panels had a flawless finish.

The panels had to be installed in a way that meant they were not supported by the existing walls. To achieve this, we designed and made a purpose-built structural steel frame, enabling us to install the panels independently of any other wall structure.

The majority of installation works ended up being done overnight, due to the space available in a live and busy train station, in the day there was a limited amount of work able to take place safely. The other key challenge when installing the GRC panels was the weight and lifting them up to the 8ft (234cm) high soffit and fixing them in place. To ensure the safety of our installers and people working on the site, we used a Winlet Crane with a special sucker attachment, which lifted the panel and held it securely in place until the installers had securely attached it to the ceiling/ wall.

As a result,

the Liverpool street project was anx excellent project for Simplicity to undertake as it demonstrates our commitment to bringing ambitious design to life in a functional and build-able way.