It’s always a great pleasure to awake an old sleeping building and bring it to new life it deserves. The Ned hotel in London City is one of our dearest and challenging projects.
The classic building was designed in 1924 by Sir Edward Lutyens, the renowned English architect to serve as headquarters of Midland Bank: the hotel is lovingly named after him. The bank starred in a James Bond movie; its vault can be seen in Goldfinger. Followed by an acquisition in the rally nineties, the building was vacated and stood empty until Soho Group saw great potential in it. Teaming up with Sydell group, they reinvented the majestic building as classy, pompously luxury hotel by honoring Lutyen’s architectural heritage. And what a heritage it was! The building oozes grandeur wherever one steps, might it be its vaulted ceilings, 29 verdite columns in the main hall, the original tellers desks or the imposing strong room.
Our company was approached by Adam Greco, the chief interior designer entrusted with the construction project: he was looking for lamps in the restaurants, bas and the spa. The project was very demanding and required meticulous attention: we started manufacturing one year after the first email exchange. Mr Greco and his colleagues Rachel Carr, Alice Lund and Rebecca King were striving for perfection regarding every small detail. We were specifically asked by them to grace our lamps with Indian silk shades from Fortuny, the renowned Italian company. Our Art Deco table lamps got wooden bases, and we also made wall lights with custom made small backplates which could be fitted onto the slender pillars in the hotel bar. We transformed our Petitot, Budapest, Hoffmann and Prague lamps to make them perfect matches for the sumptuous and inviting interior. Our lamps were delivered by Kühne+Nagel to make sure they arrrived safe and sound, lamp bodies and shades separately. We love Ned, and you?
