Printed hoarding board has been used to replicate Westminster Abbey whilst careful excavation and construction of a new Sacristy is being built. A site hoarding was constructed around the building site measuring 4 meters high x 87 meters long to ensure good health and safety practice, as the Abbey was still open to the public. The ground cannot be penetrated as the area is of Archaeological importance, so a wooden hoarding with a scaffolding counterbalance support system was used.
Design for Printed Hoarding board
The essential large site hoarding is going to be up for over three years and is a massive eye sore for the Abbeys 1.3 million tourists a year. Having worked on a number of projects with Westminster Abbey over the years they asked Project Print Management to come up with a design which complimented or disguised the cumbersome construction site hoarding.
Coming up with a design for the Printed Hoarding boards was not going to be an easy task. Given the prestigiousness of the Abbey and the buildings around it like Big Ben and Palace of Westminster.
View from of Her Majesty’s Treasury 
Before the Printed Hoarding Panels were installed 
The original foundations of the Sacristy 
scaffolding counterbalance support system was used for the hoarding
Working with the client it was decided to produce a Trompe l’oeil style design which would disguise the hoarding and try to blend the construction site hoarding into the immediate surroundings. The ‘art’ of a trompe l’oeil is to create an illusion that deceives the eyes, which is a direct translation. The challenge with this project was the distance between the face of the hoarding and Westminster Abbey which is nearly 20 meters. Visitors and tourists can also view the hoarding at over 180 degrees making it impossible to be visual accurate at every degree.
When we are asked to design a Trompe l’oeil style printed hoarding or building wrap, we attempt to create the design, so it looks accurate from all angles and perspectives. If we designed the Westminster Abbey printed hoarding so it was visually accurate from the Broad Sanctuary road, when visitors stood in front of the hoarding, the stonework and buttresses would be too small. The hoarding would then look odd negating the desired effect. It was decided to make the design 1:1 scale as this tends to be the safest option but is very subjective.
Photographs of sections of the Abbey was taken using a high resolution Sony digital. The images were then pieced together on Photoshop taking out all the perspectives.
Installation during the Coronavirus Lockdown.
The timing of the installation was during the Coronavirus lockdown which had a few advantages but additional PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) had to be used. The closing of the Abbey was advantageous as this allowed us to freely use the space in front the hoarding for the scaffolding towers and ladders. The cleaner air and sunny weather coupled with almost no traffic made installing the printed hoarding boards a pleasure.
The new Sacristy building
The foundation of the original Sacristy built by Henry III around 1250s was discovered in 1869 and was confirmed by the Channel 4 Time Team in 2009. The new Sacristy which is being built on the original foundations will accommodate welcome, security and ticket office. The new building is expected to be completed end of 2022. More information about the new Sacristy please visit Westminster Abbey website
How Printed Hoarding board are produced.
The Printed Hoarding boards are digitally printed onto an aluminium composite board (also known as ACM or a brand name of Dibond) and over-laminated with an anti-graffiti film. We recommended using anti-graffiti film as waiting visitors queuing in front of the hoarding whilst they wait to go through security could graffiti it. Whilst the film can not stop the vandalism and graffiti it can be wiped off with a specialist solution.
The hoarding panels were digitally printed onto the 10 colour Epson Surecolor S80600 eco solvent printer which is known for its reliability and print quality.
About the Conservation and Construction company.
The building work has been carried out by Daedalus Conservation who specialises in the conservation and repair of historic buildings in the UK. With over 25 years’ experience they have worked on some of Britain’s most exceptional buildings.
Project Print Management specialist in realistic imagery for scaffold wrap and hoardings
We pride ourselves on being market leader for decorative and realistic scaffold wraps and construction site hoardings. Our many year experiences working in this field give us the edge. When it comes to innovation and problem solving, we excel on some of the most demanding and complex large format print projects.
For more information on Printed Hoarding board please click here. For our latest print projects please visit our blog page.
Some of our other projects with Westminster Abbey
Printed Hoarding 
hoarding print design 
Traditional signwriting