JULY 2006

The 'G', Galway

One of Ireland's finest spa venues. Luxury and exclusivity are of the essence at the 'g'. Our spa beds match the serenity of natural materials that makes this spa very special. Behind an elegence and quality of wood lies a functioning and practical spa bed, a perfect blend of exquiste woods and 'know how' for an elegant environment.

JULY 2006

The Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong

Luke Hughes & Company spa beds are being supplied to the Peninsula Hotel Group with the first roll out in Hong Kong going without hitch. Our spa beds have been developed over time to match the finest hardwoods and manufacture with a keen technical knowledge. Luke Hughes spa beds are becoming a bench mark product providing a delightful quality matched by complete practicality.

JUNE 2006

ROYAL FURNITURE MAKERS DESIGNS SEATING FOR RESTORED THEATRE ROYAL

In 1819 the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, now owned by The National Trust, was one of the most elegant, sophisticated and up-to-date playhouses of its age.
 
As the starting date of the Restoration of the Grade 1 listed Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds draws ever closer, Bury St Edmunds Theatre Management Ltd is delighted to announce that they have developed a partnership with Luke Hughes & Company as seating designers who are designing stall, box and gallery seating for the scheme.

Theatre Director Colin Blumenau is delighted with the partnership: " I am convinced that in Luke Hughes & Company we have chosen an ideal partner for the Theatre Royal. Not only do they have great experience in designing furniture and seating for public buildings to very rigorous specifications, they also possess a thorough understanding of the requirements of a modern theatre audience. It is vitally important to everyone here at the Theatre Royal that we get the seating right and that our audience perceive that levels of comfort, sightlines and ease of access have not suffered when the Theatre re-opens. Indeed, we are very aware that the current seating is far from perfect and hope that the new designs will offer an improvement".
Justin Wharton, from Luke Hughes & Company, commented: "This is a very exciting project and we are delighted to be part of it. Developing new seating for the Theatre Royal is quite a challenge since it is actually reconciling apparent opposites: the constraints of a listed Georgian theatre with modern fire regulations, the aspirations for greater comfort with the complex geometry of the varied sight lines, the commercial pressures of providing viable numbers of seats with the practical issues of wheel-chair access, the requirements of harnessing craft-based furniture making techniques with hi-tech volume production. The answers to these challenges have been found by looking very closely at the Theatre's history, but also by looking at other contemporary theatres in Europe as well as the UK, and in part by a rigorous prototyping programme".
The restoration of the Theatre Royal is due to commence in mid-September this year. The £5.1 million project will see the Theatre's auditorium returned to its original 1819 configuration and will re-create for audiences the most authentic experience of theatre-going in the 19th century anywhere in the UK. The Theatre is due to re-open in Spring 2007. During the course of the project the Theatre's management will continue to promote a programme of events at venues in and around Bury St Edmunds.

© Luke Hughes & Company, June 2006

MAY 2006

NATWEST PREMIUM BUILDING AT CANARY WHARF

Client-facing meeting rooms are important to NatWest's Premium business centre in the heart of London's Docklands.   Working with architects Ruddle Wilkinson, the main contractor Mace and Duncan Stewart at the RBS Group, Luke Hughes & Co (LHCL) achieved a design which met with the user brief, came within the project budget and was delivered within the time frame set.

The RBS Group of which NatWest Retail Banking is now a brand, has a stringent Group Purchasing policy using a range of techniques from Supplier Performance Assessment to eSourcing in order to maximise supplier performance. LHCL has already supplied and installed furniture for Client meeting rooms in many RBS offices in the UK and throughout the world.

LHCL adapted its Capital tables and credenzas in maple slip matched veneer with solid maple lip to meet RBS's requirements exactly with detailed discussions and prototyping with RBS's Procurement Team. The tables make extensive use of LHCL's skills and experience in cable management techniques to incorporate advanced IT and AV capabilities in fine furniture.

© Luke Hughes & Company May 2006.

APRIL 2006

St George's, Bloomsbury

"As the building work draws to a close, we are launching an appeal to companies, families and individuals - anyone who loves Bloomsbury, Hawksmoor and our church has the chance to equip St George's for the centuries to come.

When it reopens St George's aims to play a central role in the regeneration of south Bloomsbury. In addition to the increased number of services and the new free exhibitions on Hawksmoor, St George's and Bloomsbury there will be regular concerts, guided tours, talks, events, family activities and a schools programme.

To facilitate this we need to replace our broken, heavy pews with new seating appropriate for so elegant a building.

As luck would have it, we have an ecclesiastical furniture maker and life-long admirer of St George's on our doorstep in Drury Lane. Luke Hughes has designed beautiful, practical and comfortable pew benches which can be moved with ease into numerous layouts and stacked up to five tall. They will transform the way that St George's can be used and enjoyed every day.

We need 40 benches in total, each seating five people, at a cost of £1,000 each. Sponsoring a seat costs as little as £25 a month for six months. Your name, or that of a friend, family member or loved one will be associated with St George's for the forseeable future. As a sponsor you will receive complimentary membership of The Friends of St George's Bloomsbury. This will provide you with regular information on services, concerts, guided tours, special events and family activities".

APRIL 2006

LUKE HUGHES DESIGNS FOR GREAT PORTLAND ESTATES plc

Luke Hughes & Co Ltd, furniture designers makers, has supplied the main boardroom table for Great Portland Estates plc.

Working closely with ORMS architects, Luke Hughes designed and manufactured the main boardroom table in European walnut on an Eames base together with a number of meeting tables to compliment the overall decor of the 17 th floor of office suite in Cavendish Square with its magnificent views over London.

LHCL has a reputation for providing a reliable, personal, knowledgeable and consultatative approach to furniture design and its integration with architecture.

The Company offers both tailored an standard solutions with space planning and project management at the heart of its service. Wendy Graham of LHCL says " we bring a thorough understanding of materials and manufacturing process to ensure quality products are delivered on time"

Referring to earlier projects, Dale Jennings of ORMS stated " from initial thoughts Luke Hughes can be relied upon to provide a professional service that depressingly few in our business ever aspire to".

For Great Portland Estates the solution also included a series of oval glass top meeting room tables with white ceramic bake finish on high polished Eames bases to achieve both functionality and elegance.

© Luke Hughes & Company April 2006.

FEBRUARY 2006

ST SWTHIN'S CHAIRS & CURZON TABLES FOR SMITH & WILLIAMSON

Smith & Williamson, the leading financial advisory services group, presented LHCL with a design brief and a desire for an understated, timeless and traditional range of boardroom and dining furniture for their offices in the City of London.

Working with the architects MCM, the solution for the dining furniture was found in LHCL's Curzon tables; circular, rectangular and barrel-shaped tops in weathered sycamore, with a solid 45mm square edge on highly polished stainless steel bases.

The beauty of these simple, stylish tables is that they can be demounted and stored easily giving maximum flexibility. One of the dining tables can be extended for larger corporate lunches. Matching credenzas were also finished in weathered sycamore with glass tops.

The Boardroom table was designed to be demountable so that the room could be cleared and used for other functions. LHCL's Folio armchair, a classic oak chair, was finished in leather to match the boardroom table top.

St Swithin chairs, upholstered in brown leather, completed the elegant look for the dining area.

An A/V table was designed to take audiovisual and IT equipment for presentations to large numbers of clients. Smith & Williamson say they have used this room far more than they envisaged.

© Luke Hughes & Company, February 2006