Claridge's Hotel

Claridge’s Hotel, London, UK

Beautiful bespoke designs produced using expert glass techniques together with new lighting technologies to illuminate the iconic Art Deco interiors of Claridge’s Hotel.

Hervé Descottes, renowned lighting designer and Co-founder of L’Observatoire International, explains the vision behind Claridge’s new lighting: “Claridges is an iconic building, with such a rich history. When I was asked to re-design the lighting for the guest circulation at the hotel, I wanted to create a series of beautiful iconic moments for guests, to perfectly connect the special experience of dining at the ground floor or first visiting, to the luxury of staying there and the rooms.

First, we brought an ambient layer of cove lights that accentuated the height and ornate detailing in the corridors, and introduced a system of tunable white fixtures that warm gradually from day to night. Secondly, we needed to design a light fixture that was iconic and completely unique; that fit perfectly in the design heritage of Claridges, but felt timeless. With longtime collaborator Sylvain Dubuisson, we designed a fixture that is both beautiful and functional- with many layers of light that allowed it to provide cooler, diffuse light in the day then transition to warm, more directional light at night. The realization of the design was made possible with the expertise of Sans Souci and their experience with cast glass- whose involvement throughout the process ensured that we were able to devise specific fabrication solutions for these very beautiful pendants, that transformed these spaces and became a beautiful addition to the hotel.”