One of London’s main railway stations, which underwent a £700 million redevelopment, features a blast-resistant ceiling from Hunter Douglas Architectural.

London Bridge Station, the oldest terminus in the capital dating back to 1836, has the capacity to carry up to 96 million passengers into the city each year and forms a central part of the £7 billion Thameslink railway.

With new platforms to accommodate longer trains, a new concourse, and a bigger station to cope with more passengers, the six-year Network Rail project completely transformed the station.

Hunter Douglas Architectural was specified to supply 300m2 of folded steel panel ceilings for the Kent Link escalator areas on two levels, providing better value for money than the original bespoke specification.

Kevin Taylor, specification sales manager for Hunter Douglas Architectural, showcased the flat sheet steel – both perforated for acoustics with standard non-woven fleece on the rear of the panels and non-perforated – in conjunction with the Safety Loop installation system.

Using this system ensures an ultra-safe ceiling. The profile is fixed securely to the structural soffit and the panels hook on to the profile before being retained by the locking plate using an Allen key or a special screw that requires a specific tool if enhanced security is required.

“Safety was all-important in this high-profile project and it enabled us to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Safety Loop system, which locks the panels in place but still enables maintenance staff to gain access when required,” said Kevin. “This makes the product as blast-resistant, as possible for a suspended ceiling product which in a major railway station, is essential.”

The standard RAL white panels were made from folded steel panels of 497mm x 1490mm to give a 500mm x 1500mm module.

The experts at Hunter Douglas Architectural completed the layout drawing to suit the shape of the site and ensured that services holes – for lighting and speakers – were cut in the factory, to minimise any delays for installation on site.