World-renowned for its unrivalled acoustic capabilities, the Kingsway Hall Hotel holds an important place in London’s history. Accommodating for a vast range of iconic events, from being the first to capture the voice of Luciano Pavarotti in 1964, as well as catering for the London Symphony Orchestra, and London Philharmonic Orchestras, to hosting speeches from suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst in 1913.

Whilst undergoing a major refurbishment following the acquisition by Shiva Hotels, we were invited to create a reception counter fitting for such an iconic venue, especially as it would be fitted exactly on the site where the orchestras would have stood during recordings.

Working closely with Tonik Associates from conception, we manufactured a live tree slab counter, constructed in layers with careful consideration taking during construction to ensure as much natural feature was visible as possible. Incorporating loose steel bars throughout the counter ensured that the layers of the counter could be clamped down together tightly, whilst still allowing for the natural movement of the large oak slabs.
Finished in a dead matt polyurethane lacquer, the counter boasts the advantages of a high durability protection coating, without compromising on the natural appearance of the slabs.