London Palladium Theatre (2017)

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Client: Littlehampton Welding Ltd
Artist: Lee Simmons
Location: London, United Kingdom

Date: 2017-10-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC
Tags: art, steel, Vierendeel frame

London Palladium Theatre

Our brief from art fabricator Littlehampton Welding was to design and detail two six metres tall and three metres wide swing gates onto which were mounted perforated steel art screens depicting stars of light entertainment, all of whom had trod the boards at the London Palladium Theatre. The gates lead into the rear of the theatre from the Carnaby Street entrance in central London.

The structure of the gates had to be as lean as possible to save weight and not visually interfere with the art but conversely stiff enough to limit deflection within strict parameters. If the gates sagged or twisted they would jam or the thin perforated stainless steel panels may distort. Our design for a sparse vierendeel frame from lightweight flat plate sections met that criteria. We used the connection points for the perforated panels as corner stiffeners of the vierendeel frame. Whilst the frame appears simple a great deal of thought went into load combinations arising from different configurations of the gate.

All photos by Littlehampton Welding Ltd.