Cooling Brothers worked closely with Architects Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland and the WA Museum to produce a significant visual and historical contribution to Fremantle’s Maritime story. The ‘Welcome Walls’ as they are known, are a tribute to the significant contributions migrants have made to shaping today’s Western Australia.

Consisting of 81 Custom Printed, Toughened Laminated glass panels to Fremantle’s Maritime Museum ‘Wharf’ and ‘Forecourt’ areas. Images, Photos and Text were printed to multi-layered glass panels throughout the Museum’s external areas showcasing both the specialised printing and also the possibilities of frameless glass installation in an external application.

The combined brief from the Port Authorities, the Museum and the Architects was to exploit the natural properties of glass, whilst allowing the names to be presented along the Wharf and Forecourt areas of the Museum without obstructing the existing landscapes, both architectural and natural. With the application being externally located, in direct sunlight and exposed to some extreme weather conditions, ImagINK™ was perfectly suited to the specification.

Architect Christian Wetjen of Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland comments that the decision to change from the original specified graphic film to the Ceramic Inc process “…was based on the local availability, expected enhanced durability in the harsh marine environment and the offered extended product warranty. As an added benefit the change to the Ceramic Ink enabled us to proceed with the original design intent of frameless glass edges for all freestanding glass panels, since the Ceramic Ink did not require a protective cover channel.”

One of the new striking additions to the Museum entrance is the multi-colour Blade ‘Welcome Wall’ spanning over 4.8m and reaching a height over 2.5m. The frameless structure, as with the Wharf panels is viewed from both sides, with text printed on separate panes to ensure clarity, with central images being shared to both elevations. Christian Wetjen adds “We had great support from the graphics team to achieve the complex task of double sided printed glass panels, where the different content on both sides needed to be clearly readable whilst allowing transparent areas within the same panels.” This combination of printing and installation had never before been achieved without jeopardizing the visual quality or the structural integrity of the finished product.

The Project was completed in time for the formal opening to a crowd of 8,000 in November last year. Christian Wetjen summarises that the success behind the project “…was due to the opportunity to work together locally with the entire Cooling Brothers team, this was key to the success and the quality of the final product, since we were able to review numerous samples and prototypes prior to proceeding with the final wall panels. We have received very positive feedback from various people in regards to the project in general and the appearance of the glass panels in particular.”

ImagINK™ direct-to-glass Ceramic printing provides Architects, Designers and Artists alike, with a new Canvas to work with, using digital files on as little as a single pane of 6mm glass. The printed finish is fired on during the toughening process ensuring the inks are scratch proof, resistant to water, all weather and are UV, Chemical and fade resistant. With a 10year warranty on the painted images, and thousands of colour possibilities, the world of glass is now in full colour.