Luke Hughes and Company, recent news

Luke Hughes was invited to Rotterdam as a principal guest speaker at the Houtag Conference 2011. Luke was speaking on ‘Where the tactile meets the technical’, a look at how key design factors can help extract the best value (and a 100-year life expectancy) from hardwoods. The lecture continues the series given in by Luke Hughes over the last few years in India, the Middle and Far East, as well as Australasia. Having designed furniture for over 30 years, Luke is uniquely placed to share his expertise with architects and designers and to analyse the trends, characteristics and species available.

Other speakers included Andrew Lawrence, Associate Director of Arup, who spoke about the structural considerations behind the Timber Wave, a sensational three-dimensional latticework timber spiral, designed by Amanda Levete. The Wave is 12 metres in diameter, made in American Red oak, and employs construction techniques and materials normally used in furniture making. The project was sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council.

http://www.londondesignfestival.com/events/timber-wave-amanda-levete-architects
http://www.houtblad.nl/maak-kennis-met-de-sprekers-van-de-nationale-houtdag.html
http://www.americanhardwood.org
http://www.arup.com

Luke Hughes has been commissioned by Churchill College, Cambridge to design 400 new chairs to replace the originals in the dining hall, designed by Robin Day.  The funding is largely expected to come from alumni whose generosity will be recorded on brass discs on the rear of the chairs. The chairs are expected to be delivered in July 2012.

After 50 years, the chairs had finally come to their end of their natural, economic life - not least because of the modern presssures on Cambridge colleges of the conference trade, which greatly increases the ‘churn’ on furniture during college vacations. ‘It’s a great honour to be able to build on Robin’s knowledge’ said Luke Hughes, ‘fashions have changed and so have manufacturing techniques and today we have more theoretical understanding of the structural problems of timber stacking chairs - not least thanks to research by Cambridge University Engineering Department, which has had many students from Churchill College’.

The college have remained extremely loyal to architect Richard Shephard’s 60s vision for the Grade II* buidlings, as well as to retaining the synthesis of the architecture with its furnishings.

Luke Hughes got to know Robin Day (who died in November 2010 aged 95) through a shared interest in mountaineering - they met through the Alpine Club. Robin was a strong ski-mountaineer, as well as being one of Britain’s most celebrated furniture designers of the 20th century. Luke has climbed the North Face of the Eiger and made many exploratory expeditions to Tibet and the Himalayas (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Hughes_(furniture_designer).

http://www.churchillconferences.co.uk/gallery_dining.php
http://designmuseum.org/design/robin-lucienne-day

Following on the success of the Botanic Institute, November proved to be a good month for Luke Hughes and Company products. The range of furniture for the office HQ of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts was designed in collaboration with Ian Ritchie Architects and was chosen as a finalist in the FX Office Furniture category for 2011.

The furniture scope includes meeting tables, integrated lighting, desks and storage units made in a combination of glass and shot-peened stainless-steel.

http://www.ianritchiearchitects.co.uk
http://www.sfct.org.uk
http://www.lukehughes.co.uk/index.php/about/news_year/2010/#sainsbury

On 15 November, at the Building Design Architect of the Year Awards, Stanton Williams were awarded Architect of the Year Gold Award. Project architect, Gavin Henderson commented ‘the judges commented that the two projects in our submission were “..two of the most impressive buildings built in the UK over the past 12 months.” The awards clearly reflect more than just our input as architects, but the skill, commitment and dedication of the whole Project Team!’ Alan Stanton wrote ‘thanks so much for the vital contribution in the furniture’.

Luke Hughes and Company was appointed to work closely with Stanton Williams to design and procure all the furniture, most of which is bespoke. The project has been a perfect example of one of the tenets of Luke Hughes’s design philosophy, that in any quality building, the connection between the architecture and the furniture should be seamless. The contract was worth almost £750K.

http://www.gatsby.org.uk/
http://www.sfct.org.uk
http://www.stantonwilliams.com/
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/events/architect-of-the-year/aya-2011

The newly refurbished Cripps Library at Oundle School was formally opened on 31 October by Mr Robert Cripps.

Plans for the Library refurbishment began four years ago, followed by a successful fundraising campaign launched at the Grocers’ Hall in March 2010 which exceeded targets.

Work completed included the replacement of most of the original steel work in the mezzanine, the relocation of the stairs, the installation of a new heating system designed by Max Fordham, and new lighting designed by Sutton-Vane Associates.

The new library design has increased reader spaces, added more shelf capacity and improved access to IT (see News story for October 2011). The design has created the impression of a bigger space, but has also provided more privacy for reading and work.

The opening prompted some debate about libraries in a digital age. The libraries of thirty years ago conjure up the image of a hushed and whispery environment.  Nowadays libraries are a welcoming dynamic environment – compatible with modern technology and users are encouraged to use DVDs, talking books and online resources.  Though technology should never be a replacement for books, Philip Pullman was recently quoted in the Telegraph, saying that “using the internet is like looking at a landscape through a keyhole”, a learner is hugely limited when they choose only to read what Google or Wikipedia lets them find. Content aside, technology is far less reliable than a book.  Google only works with an internet connection, and a laptop only works with a charged battery.  Luke Hughes, the CEO of Luke Hughes and Company, who have designed and made furniture for sixteen major institutional libraries including the Cambridge University Library, the Institute of Criminology Christ Church College, Oxford and other major school libraries including Harrow, Giggleswick, Bryanston and Stowe, says “If the equipment fails, the knowledge evaporates.  Not so with books.”
Luke Hughes has noted that a refurbishment of a library can expect to encourage an increase in usage by 300% - a remarkable figure.  Anne Jarvis, University Librarian, Cambridge University, expressed her views about the importance of libraries for learning and development. ‘The best school libraries teach research skills, support teaching and help students develop essential literacy skills which will enable current and future students to approach the opportunities afforded by new technology for further learning and research with a sense of excitement rather than fear.”

http://www.oundleschool.org.uk/news/newsItem.php?id=858

http://www.sva.co.uk/index.asp

http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/management/