A Bespoke Flagpole Solution For An Award Winning Development Project
Flagmakers were first approach by Appear Here in January 2022 to assist in providing the finish touches to the “Deptford Project,” a £47 million restoration project of the Deptford Railway station and surrounding area.
Appear Here are one of the world’s leading marketplaces of commercial rent spaces, with offices in London, Paris, New York and Amsterdam.
The Brief
The Flagmakers team were challenged with working specifically on the Grade 2 listed carriage ramp – London’s oldest railway structure. Built in 1835, the ramp has had many uses over nearly 2 centuries, including a cattle market and an air raid shelter during the 2nd world war.
Our task, at least on the surface, was relatively straightforward given our expertise and previous experience. Appear Here wanted to install 14 horizontal flagpoles above the 14 arches positioned below the carriage ramp, which are to be used as commercial spaces for businesses such as restaurants, fashion outlets and photographers. Each of these flagpoles would need to fly a premium quality flag to reflect the high-end finish of the surrounding areas.
What made this project significantly more intriguing, was the structure’s listed status, which meant we would not be permitted to drill into any property, which would be the common approach for this type of project.
The Solution
Following a site visit in March 2022 by Flagmakers’ Lead Engineer, a plan was put in place to design, manufacture and install a bespoke fixing solution that would attach to the fencing above the archers, without the need to make any changes to the existing structure.
Above each of the 14 arches, two bespoke horizontal bars were fitted onto the existing fence. The top horizontal bar (1) created a surface for a bespoke bracket (2) to be situated for housing the 2.5m aluminium horizontal flagpoles (3). On the bottom bar (4), a second bracket (5) was installed for the supporting bar (6) to be fixed, required to ensure the flagpoles remain at a 90-degree angle.
With aesthetics playing a large part in the project, all flagpoles and fixings were powder coated in black to match the surroundings. The flags were made double thickness using black heavy polycotton, with the design heat transfer vinyl pressed in white on both sides. This option was suggested as the material is ‘high end’ and the white vinyl provides a more vibrant finish than traditional printing.
Finally, a tether bar (7) was fitted to each of the flagpoles, which when attached to the flags with rope stops the flags from wrapping around the flagpole in windy conditions.
Flagpole Installation
Unfortunately, our first installation date fell on the 19th of July, the hottest day on record in the UK, and was abandoned mid-morning with temperatures already reaching mid-thirties. However, the project was completed a week later, with a team of 4 installers on site for the day to bring all of the plans to life.
