Bespoke Car Park Marking

Another slightly different request, this time from Richard Huntley of Denne Construction – asking if we had the capability to paint aeroplanes in a basement car park, but not just on the floors – up the walls too!

Denne Construction was the building contractor selected by Southern Housing Group for the development of the Vega Building a 40 apartment block in Hove, East Sussex.

The building design is based on art deco themes inspired by the 1930s car dealership which previously occupied the site. It was the spirit of the 1930’s which inspired the Vega name – the Lockheed Vega was the type of airplane flown by Amelia Earhart when she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

Brighton agency Yelo Wolf created the brand identity and signage for the building which incorporates the art deco theme and utilises a silhouette of the famous aircraft throughout the building, even in the underground car park.

Enter Hi-Way Services. Richard Wolfströme of Yelo Wolf explains, “With the Vega design concept we were aiming to create a solid place-making connection between the residents and the building they live in. It was important to us to maintain this consistently throughout the fabric of the building including the car park.

“The design covered 40 parking spaces, allocated one to each apartment, plus four disabled bays which are painted blue to differentiate and inform car park users. The numbers of each space takes the form that is influenced by plane identification – AA1, AA2, BB1 etc. The plane silhouette is used to mark the bay numbers and to direct the users to each of the designated areas. A welcome message and farewell message trail the plane motif up and down the ramp creating a friendliness in and out of the space.

“We knew the car park painting would be a challenge,” said Richard, “fortunately Richard Huntley of Denne had worked with Hi-Way Service on other projects and was confident that they were the right people for the job. He was right.”

Danny O’Reilly of Hi-Way Services takes up the story. “With every aspect of this car park being bespoke, every single line, letter, number & aeroplane was non-standard in spec, size & colour. We  called on its supply chain to manufacture the colours required and bespoke stencils for every item. This enabled the car park colours & fonts to be in keeping with the rest of the Vega Building.

“We were excited about the project from the first moment Richard Huntley contacted us. It may appear unusual but we are increasingly being asked to deliver more creative designs. Whether it be greater use of colour or something more quirky like the Vega motif, it seems that developers are striving to gain an edge through design and want to work with contractors who can not only deliver excellent work but can demonstrate that bit of extra flair and enthusiasm.”

Richard Wolfströme agrees, “The guys from Hi-Way were great to work with. Not only were they incredibly professional but they really bought in to what we were trying to achieve, and were obviously enthused by the project.”

And the results? “Well it’s absolutely stunning!” said Richard.