This exterior wall enhancement turned a walkway from drab to fab!

Transformation

The Hub Library  has a well used walkway that runs from it back carpark to the front entrance. Prior to being made over by Walls That Talk it was functional but drab and uninviting.  The walls were plain beige brick. This pathway is used by a large number of library users, especially those with prams, wheel chairs and small children, as this path avoids the stairs.

Quite rightly the library wanted to upgrade this space. To make the path friendly and welcoming to all its users. To make it interesting and attractive and to represent the library users of the path are about to enter.

Diversity

Walls That Talk consulted with the Library team to design a range of icons and images to represent the diversity of people who use the library. In the images you will see older people, men, women, children, prams, wheel chairs and more. It was important for all users to be able recognise something of themselves in the images presented.

Local wildlife is also represented on the wall. If you look carefully you will see a koala hanging around!

Site specific

The history of the Library is represented as well. A large model giraffe used to be inside the library.  It is still something people remember and talk about – so its represented on the wall.

There are also references to the library collections on the feature wall. You will see a boy pulling a cart full of toys. This represents the toy library. There is a child with sports equipment. This represents the collection of sports equipment available for borrowing. The science and alien icons represent the maker space within the library.

Further detail can be seen in the footsteps on the concrete path. Children can use them for skipping, hopping and jumping – lots of children use the path. There are adult feet as well. Step lengths match the age of the person. This adds and element of fun and engages the library patrons with the space.

Attention to detail

From a design point of view the exterior wall enhancement had to fulfill a few different functions.  The wall needed to be interesting from far away as it can be seen as you drive in. This meant the design made use of strong block colours and images. It also had to function when being seen as you walk past it. To this end  some of the shapes have patterns on them. The patterns are made up of icons that represent the shape it has been applied to: science, education, sports and e-commerce.

The items used in this wall transformation needed to last long term. The solution was composite aluminium panels with high UV rated outdoor gloss vinyl on the surface. Also addressed was the graffiti concern. 3M anti graffiti was applied as the last layer on top of the panel. This means the panels are easily cleaned.

This exterior enhancement project shows the incredible level of detail and design that Walls That Talk are capable of applying to every project. If your building could use a little more pizzaz on the outside and you want a long term solution that will look great contact us now.