The Challenge A glorious new fabric roof feature is the “Crowning Glory” of an Art Deco style lift shaft at the Exchange Shopping Centre in Ilford. The ‘crown’ of fabric, installed as part of a major refurbishment of the 1980s shopping centre, has a feel of the Statue of Liberty about it, perched high above the ground in the glass roofed central hall. Despite its bold Art Deco design with gold trimmed columns, the double lift platform didn’t quite look finished. Architects Dunnet Craven specified an aesthetic canopy, enhanced by coloured LED lighting to provide a high level focal point as part of the refurbishment of the West Mall. Working at height was to be the biggest challenge. The lift shaft fabric roof could only be accessed from the third floor of the building and only from one side

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