UTC
Portsmouth

UTC Portsmouth contacted Grapefruit to assist with a large graphic installation within some major walkways and staircase areas. We were up against a number of other suppliers to design a creative, modern and sleek design that was in line with the colleges goals and aspirations for its students.

UTC Portsmouth is the region’s only Stem specialist college, providing a unique curriculum delivered by experts to meet the growing demands of employers across the region. Thy are passionate and committed to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects and offer an outstanding academic and technical learning environment for young people aged 14-19 years old. Alongside the national curriculum, UTC Portsmouth specialises in mechanical and electrical engineering and advanced manufacturing, offering engineering study programmes as well as A levels and GCSEs.

After an initial consultation with the client to understand the project, a site visit was conducted to understand the space we would be working with. At this stage it is incredibly important to look at any areas that may be of interest which may effect the design phase. Starting the planning here is essential, to ensure a seamless process from consultation, design, production and finally to installation.

From here the design team set to work developing concepts and ideas to share with the client, we were lucky to have such an involved and clear direction from this client. The team at UTC were responsive and coherent with their feedback which makes the design phase seamless.

Once we got to a style we agreed on we moved onto colours, as these needed to be matched to the colleges existing color palette we went into rigorous color testing. Our printed vinyl needed to match all the other mediums in which their colours featured, we shared a few rounds of printed samples before we nailed down the exact colour palate we wanted to use for the final print.

From here, it’s about specifying the correct material for the job, the walls in the college were painted with a standard contract white matt but the years of students moving through the spaces gave the paint a sheen that meant it was important to test the vinyl before running any final print.  We were able to go to site and leave a number of test pieces in situ to test this.

Once we were sure on the media and the designs were signed off, printing began!

From here our installation team take control of the project, having had a solid brief and walk around from a project manager the finer details of the job where shared. Luckily access in the college was reasonably simple and they were very accommodating with the team on site.

It was due to strict planning during the design phase that leads to a seamless installation. We had to fit a vinyl wall wrap that perfectly followed the angles the length of the staircase banister up two different three story staircases. Getting these angles correct and the files set up perfectly was super important, this was perfected using our years of knowledge of complex installations across many applications.

From here, a few days on site for the install team flew by. We completed the job well within the timescale and had time to triple check all the areas before a walk around with the client to ensure they were happy. With a final sign off we walked away with another complex project delivered on time, on budget and all with an extremely high level of finish.

Working with UTC is a perfect example of all areas of Grapefruit working together seamlessly to crease a well-polished product that we can all be proud of. From the client relationship, the design teams creative ideas and the skilled installation team we we showcased what we can do when we all pull together.