Located in the Rittenhouse Square section of Philadelphia is a beautiful, newly renovated, luxury apartment building that overlooks Philadelphia’s best restaurants, shops, culture and more in the premier 19103 neighborhood. This building is the Versailles Apartment building with interior and exterior architectural elements that remind the visitors of the famous Palace of Versailles (twelve miles Southwest of Paris) in France.
Alterra Property Group has spent the past year renovating the Versailles building, located on 16th and Locust Streets. Now it is truly a place that is fit for a King or Queen, as this apartment building put the L in luxury, with its amenities such as an on-site fitness center, yoga studio, business center, roof deck, amenity kitchen, cinema, “the Treehouse” children’s play space, and even a rooftop dog run.
It is on this crown of the building, sixteen floors up, that rests the Vista Rooftop Lounge, a relaxing oasis complete with a roof deck, entertainment center, indoor/outdoor fireplace, bar and grill, Wi-Fi, and lounge area with the beautiful Center City views.
Who could the Alterra Property Group count on to design and bring together the concepts, materials, craftspeople and artists to produce such a modern-day palace?
Interior curator for the building, collaborator and creative genius named Eileen Tognini. She and her talented, hardworking assistant Meg Adams were tasked with updating the lobby and the amenities spaces, furniture and accessories to help appeal to potential tenants.
Eileen had used Presto Print Medias before on previous projects and felt confident with Presto’s Wall Canvas for a new mural for a prominent 9-by-20-foot wall for the Rooftop Lounge area. “I was attracted to this material for its surface quality that emulates an art canvas, rather than simply using wallpaper. It’s ability to withstand some commercial wear and tear was critical in this setting,” said Eileen.
Eileen works with a broad collection of artists and for this project she counted on the photography skills of Philadelphia’s own Jenny Lynn. The image selected was a timeless view of the Palace of Versailles and it’s gardens.
When asked about her photo Jenny states, “I traveled to Europe in 1986, and one of the places I visited was the Palace of Versailles, in France. As an artist and photographer, it was a grand and magical place to see, with endless possibilities of images to capture. I was especially drawn to the gardens surrounding the Palace, which are filled with amazing statuary and topiaries.”
Jenny loved the way her thirty-year-old image came to life on Presto’s Wall Canvas material. “I was very impressed with how wonderful the installation looked,” she said.
The mural media is Presto Print Media’s CanvasTac #343 removable and repositionable adhesive-backed smooth canvas. The Wall Canvas is printable with UV, Latex, solvent and eco-solvent inks. A PVC free, phthalate and lead free type lll wallcovering, made in the USA, in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
Printing was done on a HP 360 latex ink wide format printer. Latex inks are a water based ink making them more eco-friendly than solvent inks.
The graphics were also liquid laminated with a Marabu Matte liquid laminate to prevent scuffing and offer enhanced UV resistance.
The wall is a standard drywall with primer and finished with a semi-gloss latex enamel. Printing and installation was done by Puca’s Painting & Wallcoverings of Ewing, New Jersey. Salvatore Puca, owner, has over thirty years experience in the wallcoverings field.
Sal said about the CanvasTac material, “ I love the way the repositionable adhesive makes for a quick and reliable installation. The weight and the texture of the material lets the client know right away that this is not vinyl or paper, it’s in a class of its own.”
The total installation time for the Versailles wall mural was three hours. When asked if Sal had any tips for others installing the material he said, “ Always leave additional material around the perimeter of your graphic, this way you have some play if the wall is not exactly square.
“Another good tip is to squeegee over your graphic twice to ensure that you have excellent adhesion.”
