Fabricating the feature bar installation for award-winning architecture and interiors consumer show.

Central Bar 

Grand Designs Live 

Processes 

• Digital Fabrication  
• Signage 
• Finishing
• Installation

What we did

Media 10 commissioned Aldworth James & Bond with fabricating the feature installation at the 2017 edition of Grand Designs Live. Taking place in the north hall at the London ExCel Centre, the award-winning home show attracts thousands of visitors daily, with the Central Bar as the main focal point for the show's six themes: Build, Gardens, Kitchens & Bathrooms, Interiors and the Design Arcade. The scope of the project included CNC routing the plywood birch sheets for the slatted structure, fixing the slats before installation on site. We worked with a structural engineer to ensure the integrity of each arch. Further work included building the curved seating and hand-finished signage for each section. 

The hanging silver 'house' signage that was suspended in the centre of the bar was a simple timber frame construction, with mirrored acrylic, and a circular red centre shape with acrylic signage. The Central Bar will be de-rigged by our site team and stored before installation later in the year at the second edition of Grand Designs Live at the Birmingham NEC. Many thanks to our client at Media 10 for the opportunity to build this structure. 

Photography: Tom Donald for AJ&B

Design: Media 10