Following the decision to earmark the site for demolition and redevelopment, Recclesia was called in to quickly and carefully remove the highly significant John Hutton engraved panels from the building before it was demolished.
Following extensive investigation and conservation planning work by Recclesia with the Museum of London Archaeology Department, all twenty four panels were safely removed from the curtain walling of the building which was undergoing demolition during the process.
The Hutton Panels, each being some two by one metres in size but only 5mm thick, were then individually documented, photographed, and boxed in specially made museum-standard cases. Once transported to Recclesia’s specialist glass conservation studio, the panels were carefully unpacked one by one to further document and record their condition.
They then underwent several months of specialist cleaning before being repackaged and put into secure storage.
Following Recclesia’s studio assessment, condition report and conservation plan, a digital mock-up of the Hutton Panels was produced by the studio to show the layout and relativity of each panel to the next.
The images have been used for architectural maquettes to help plan the positioning of the artwork in their future home, the new entrance to the Bank Underground Station for Transport for London. Once complete, the station will be located underneath Bloomberg’s new European Headquarters, designed by Foster and Partners.