What is believed to be the UK’s tallest piece of
street art has been created on a Leeds office development, with help from an
external wall insulation system supplied by Sto Ltd.
The 137ft high mural is entitled ‘Athena Rising’ and
has been created on the side of the Platform building in Leeds, which has been
clad with StoTherm Vario external wall insulation and finished with StoColor
X-black facade paint.
The ambitious and bold artwork depicts an owl in
flight alongside a moon and a crown, and has been created by artists Cbloxx and
AYLO, also known as Joy Gilleard and Hayley Garner, from the Nomad Clan
muralists collective. Taking four weeks to complete, ‘Athena Rising’ covers the
east elevation of the building, and it saw Joy and Hayley working from a
suspended cradle, hand-painting the artwork using emulsion and spray paint.
“This project is an
excellent example of the way that Sto can provide a fully integrated solution
for an unusual project such as this,” comments Sto’s Account Manager, Jim
Allan. “StoTherm Vario is a high performance and cost-effective insulation
system which features a mineralic reinforcing coat which is designed to meet
stringent fire safety requirements. It provides excellent thermal performance
and protects the external wall from weathering. No additional expansion joints
are required and this was an important feature for the Platform building, as it
gave Joy and Hayley a smooth canvas on which to work.
“Equally critical to
this project was the StoColor X-black paint that
was used to create the final exterior finish,” adds Simon Hill of Heywood-based
specialists Met-Excel, who completed the installation work. ”An external render
was applied over the StoTherm Vario insulation, and a dark colour finish was required, onto which the
artwork could be applied. This would have been extremely difficult to achieve
using conventional alternatives, as we had to ensure that the final surface
would remain stable so that the artwork can be enjoyed for many years to come.”
Dark
finishes on render applied over external wall insulation have traditionally
suffered from heat build-up due to solar gain. This can subject the render and
insulation to temperatures of up to 80°C, which causes dimensional instability,
cracking and damage to the insulation. However, the StoColor X-black paint uses special near-infrared black pigments
that cause much of the solar energy in the invisible near-infrared spectrum to
be reflected. Despite the render surface being dark in colour, it stays
considerably cooler, protecting both the render itself and the insulation material
beneath it from the extremes of thermal stress.
The Nomad Clan’s work is part of the city-wide street
art project in Leeds, called ‘A City Less Grey’. Joy and Hayley are experienced
giant muralists, having painted some of the largest artworks in the North of
England, and they have been called ‘one of street art’s finest female
duos.’
“We’re very excited to be part of this project and
pleased that Platform can provide the canvas for this mural,” adds Craig Burrow
of the building’s owner, Bruntwood. “Bruntwood firmly believes that the
strength of our cities is directly impacted by social and cultural vibrancy, so
it’s great to see city-wide projects like ‘A City Less Grey’ bringing
organisations from across the region together to create powerful art.
