Scaffold Facade Print: When a prestigious fashion brand opens a new retail location, first impressions matter long before the doors officially open. Construction work, scaffolding and temporary site materials can easily detract from the appearance of a premium location, particularly in an area such as Mayfair.
This scaffold facade print produced for international fashion house Elie Saab is an excellent example of how a carefully designed building wrap can disguise construction work while maintaining a high-quality appearance.
Project Print Management was commissioned to manage the project from the initial photography and artwork preparation through to printing, finishing and final installation of the large-format mesh scaffold wrap.
Located close to Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London, the building sits within one of the capital’s most prestigious retail and commercial districts. Ensuring the construction site remained visually presentable was therefore an important consideration throughout the refurbishment.
Why Use a Scaffold Facade Print?
London’s buildings are constantly being refurbished, renovated and redeveloped. Scaffolding is often essential to allow contractors safe access to the exterior of a building, but the resulting structure can dominate the appearance of a property for months.
A scaffold facade print provides an effective way to disguise the temporary works.
Instead of looking directly at scaffolding, boards, sheeting and construction materials, pedestrians see a large-format printed image covering the working area.
For high-profile retail locations, hotels, commercial buildings and luxury developments, this can make a considerable difference to the appearance of the site.
A printed scaffold wrap can also provide an opportunity for branding or advertising where appropriate and subject to any necessary permissions or advertising consent.
For Elie Saab, the objective was to create a professional temporary facade that reflected the quality of the fashion brand while construction work continued behind it.
Creating a Life-Size Printed Building Facade
Producing an effective facade wrap starts well before the scaffolding is erected.
For this project, Project Print Management photographed the building before the scaffold structure was installed. This provided the visual information required to create the artwork for the finished scaffold facade print.
Taking photographs at the correct stage of the project is important. Once scaffolding, sheeting and construction equipment are in position, obtaining an unobstructed view of the original elevation can become extremely difficult.
The photography was then prepared as large-format artwork, taking into account the overall dimensions of the scaffold and the position of architectural features.
When viewed from street level, the finished print creates the impression of a building facade rather than simply a construction screen.
This technique can be particularly effective in sensitive or high-profile locations where maintaining the appearance of the streetscape is important.
The Importance of the Scaffold Wrap Sub-Frame
High-quality printing is only part of creating a successful building wrap.
The supporting frame is equally important.
For the Mayfair project, the scaffolding incorporated a dedicated key-clamp sub-frame around which the printed mesh banner could be positioned and tensioned.
A correctly constructed sub-frame helps create straight edges and provides suitable fixing points around the perimeter of the print. This allows our installation team to apply an even level of tension across the scaffold wrap.
If the supporting frame is uneven or incorrectly positioned, achieving a clean finish becomes much more difficult.
Poor tension can result in visible ripples, creases or sagging across the artwork. On a photographic facade print, these imperfections can be particularly noticeable because straight architectural lines such as windows, columns and masonry quickly reveal distortion.
Careful coordination between the scaffold contractor, print supplier and installation team is therefore essential.
Large-Format Mesh Printing for Scaffolding
The scaffold facade print was produced on mesh PVC using large-format digital printing equipment capable of printing material up to approximately five metres wide.
Mesh PVC is frequently used for large scaffold wraps because its perforated construction allows some air to pass through the material while still providing a strong surface for large-format graphics.
Individual printed sections were high-frequency welded together to create the much larger finished banner.
Producing the wrap as a carefully manufactured large-format installation helps reduce unnecessary joins and creates a more consistent appearance across the building elevation.
Accurate measurements are crucial. The position of the sub-frame, overall scaffold dimensions and final fixing method all need to be considered before production begins.
Managing the Project from Photography to Installation
Project Print Management provided a complete service for this project rather than simply supplying the printed banner.
Our involvement included:
- Photographing the building before scaffolding was erected
- Preparing and scaling the facade artwork
- Coordinating the dimensions of the scaffold sub-frame
- Large-format printing onto mesh PVC
- High-frequency welding and finishing
- Delivering the completed scaffold wrap
- Installing and tensioning the print on site
Managing the complete process helps ensure that the photography, artwork, print production, supporting structure and installation all work together.
This becomes particularly important with large facade graphics, where even relatively small discrepancies can become extremely obvious once an image is enlarged across several storeys.
Improving the Appearance of Mayfair Construction Sites with Scaffold Facade Print
In areas such as Mayfair, appearance can be particularly important.
Luxury retailers, hotels, property developers and commercial landlords often want to minimise the visual impact of refurbishment work on neighbouring properties, customers and pedestrians.
A professionally produced scaffold facade print can turn an unattractive temporary scaffold structure into a much more considered part of the streetscape.
The Elie Saab project demonstrates what can be achieved when building photography, large-format printing and a properly designed scaffold sub-frame are combined.
Rather than leaving the construction site exposed, the printed facade created a high-quality temporary exterior while work continued behind the scaffold.
Scaffold Facade Print from Project Print Management
Project Print Management specialises in large-format building wraps, scaffold facade prints, printed mesh banners and construction site graphics throughout London and across the UK.
We can become involved at the early stages of a project, helping with site surveys, photography, artwork preparation, print specification, sub-frame requirements and installation.
For projects in high-profile locations, careful planning is often the difference between a basic scaffold covering and a convincing architectural facade.
The Elie Saab project in Mayfair is a good example of how an effective scaffold facade print can conceal construction work while helping a prestigious property maintain a professional appearance throughout refurbishment.
For more information, please contact Project Print Management or visit our blog.
