Tate Modern Turbine Hall, 3,200m² Protective Resin Floor Coating

Overview

Anglia Decor was contacted by Tate Modern to provide a protective resin coating to the 3,200m² Turbine Hall floor as part of a major new art installation by Tania Bruguera. The artwork, installed in response to the global migration crisis, required a heat-sensitive floor that would reveal a hidden photographic portrait when enough visitors stood together and applied body heat to the surface. Anglia Decor's role was to apply the protective resin flooring layer over the completed artwork to safeguard it from the estimated 5.9 million annual visitors while maintaining the thermochromic effect.

The Installation

The Turbine Hall floor was first protected with plastic floor tiles laid over the original surface. A primer coat and 2 coats of black paint were then applied to create the base layer. The artwork itself was spray-applied using heat-reactive thermochromic paint, bringing Bruguera's creative concept to life. The portrait depicts the face of Yousef, a young man who left Syria in 2011 and now studies biomedical science and works for the NHS. His image remains hidden under the black floor surface until enough body heat from visitors standing together causes the thermochromic layer to become transparent, gradually revealing the portrait beneath.

Resin Coating System Applied

Our floor painting team applied an anti-slip Polyaspartic epoxy flooring coating across the full 3,200m² ground floor area of the Turbine Hall, providing a durable, slip-resistant protective layer over the thermochromic artwork. We also applied a matt protective coating to a separate 400m² section. The Polyaspartic system was selected for its rapid cure time, abrasion resistance, and ability to withstand the extremely high footfall experienced at Tate Modern, one of the most visited cultural venues in the world.

Results

Anglia Decor completed the Tate Modern Turbine Hall floor coating on schedule, working around Tate's in-house installation team and other contractors involved in the wider artwork build. The protective resin coating performed exactly as required, safeguarding the original floor while providing a durable, anti-slip walking surface for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who experienced Bruguera's installation during its run at Tate Modern.