04/03-13   -   Press releases

600 m2 of public art enriches new kidney dialysis treatment centre

Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital Trust opens a new kidney dialysis treatment centre in London featuring a continuous design 162m long on the exterior glazing. Working in collaboration with British artist Colin Moore the environmental graphics team of signage provider Modulex produces and installs 68 panels of applied vinyl in a week.

Guy’s and St. Thomas’, one the largest and best-known Hospital Trusts in the UK, recently opened a new ultra-modern kidney dialysis treatment centre in London. Located on the ground floor of a new development, the unit has continuous full-height glazing in the facade, which had to be treated in some way to ensure the privacy of patients and staff.

The hospital commissioned artist, Colin Moore, to develop a solution to effectively modify visibility through the glass and at the same time provide artwork which would contribute to the visual amenity of the hospital interior. The artist comments:

“This was a big job. I had to create artwork for 68 glazed panels, each of which measured 2.5m wide by 3.5m high, and install it quickly before the unit opened. After some research I decided to use applied vinyl with a frosted finish and to have the designs digitally printed onto it.

I got Modulex involved at an early stage and they provided invaluable advice and assistance with testing samples while I was developing the designs. There were some interesting technical challenges too.

The artwork, essentially translucent colours like stained glass in a church, had to look good when seen from inside the unit during the day, and when seen from outside at night with the lights on. I also had to be careful not to modify too much the overall colour of the light entering the treatment areas as skin colour is an important diagnostic indicator in a dialysis unit.

After consultation with patients and staff I developed a scheme based on the sky, deployed in an undulating strip which occupied only the upper zone of the panels and went right round the building. Day and night, clouds, rain, snow, birds of many kinds, aeroplanes and balloons come and go, and help keep things interesting.

Towards the end I thought we might run out of time, but the Modulex guys really did a great job to ensure that the work was done, and done well. I‘m very grateful to them. The patients and staff love it too, which is the main thing."

To see some of the artwork from this project, feel free to visit Colin’s website at www.colinmoore.uk.com. To read more about environmental graphics visit Modulex´ website: www.modulex.com.