Hepworth Gallery shortlisted for major architectural award

In 2010 Eurosafe designed and installed a fully bespoke access and maintenance system to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield. We are delighted to hear it has been shortlisted for the Sterling Prize for Architecture.

The Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield is an iconic building created by David Chipperfield Architects and built by Laing O’Rourke. The design of the building means that the normally hidden flat roof areas are visible to the public from every angle at street level. This led to it being essential that all of the safety systems and ladders had a minimal visual impact on the building.
Working closely with the architects during preconstruction phase, we ensured that the layouts and fixing details of the roof top safety and abseil systems were carefully hidden within the structure. The access routes around the roofs were redesigned to ensure the ladders were located in positions that were not visible from street level, or designed to be folded down when not in use.

Following the successful installation of the equipment to the roof we were asked to design low visual impact systems to the internal rooflights and  a series of removable eyebolts for the suspension of artworks inside the building that could be hidden, using a colour matched cover plate, when not in use. This was all completed on time for the opening of the building in May 2011.

Since the opening, Eurosafe has provided a regular testing and inspection service for all the access equipment to keep the systems in good working order, allowing the Hepworth galleries maintenance teams to keep the building looking like new.