Imageco appoint Applelec to create large format, illuminated metal letters

Imageco collaborated with Applelec to create impactful branding as part of the redevelopment project for Leeds City Council’s main office base.

 

Situated in the heart of Leeds city centre, the 170,000sqft Merrion House building underwent a massive renovation, transforming the dated 1970s office block into a state of the art, contemporary space. Imageco worked with Applelec to create new and eye-catching signage that reflects the modern design of the revamped office complex.

 

Following conceptual briefs from Imageco, Applelec manufactured two sets of Merrion House lettering and three individual Leeds City Council logos of varying sizes, which were installed on the front, rear and side elevations of the office building.

 

At 1000mm in height at their tallest, the Merrion House lettering was powder coated white at Applelec’s paint facility and embedded with cool white, 6500K SloanLED LED modules to create a bright and striking contrast against the building’s brickwork. Featuring a variety of built-up and flat cut metal letters, the Leeds City Council logos measure 9300mm x 1507mm at their largest and were installed at a 30m height on the Merrion House building. 

 

Andy Armitage, Applelec’s head of signage said: ‘One of the main challenges for this project was the staggering height at which the logos were to be mounted at. To guarantee these would be securely fixed, Applelec’s design engineer was instrumental in calculating installation factors such as wind loadings and structural requirements to ensure the total weight of the logos was spread accordingly.’

 

Following the same white finish as the Merrion House letters, the Leeds City Council logos were also integrated with cool white SloanLED LED modules and feature a combination of face and halo illumination styles, achieving bold signage that is clearly visible both during day and night time hours. 

 

Nathan Swinson-Bullough Imageco director said: ‘The Leeds City Council logo features a detailed coat-of-arms design, which was recreated through precision cutting utilising Applelec’s CNC router. These sections were then wrapped in digitally printed, high-quality vinyl created by Imageco to further depict the intricate patterns of the crest. The exact manufacture of the emblem was essential to ensure the vinyl layer and flat cut shapes would marry perfectly.’ 

 

The project had a tight turnaround of two weeks and the installation of the signage was completed by Imageco.