Royal Albert Hall Helix

Cafe Consort Sculpture

Royal Albert Hall Helix Sculpture

In 2003 one of London's most famous landmarks, the Royal Albert Hall, celebrated the most recent phase of its extensive restoration programme with a newly refurbished restaurant, the Cafe Consort, graced with a bespoke lighting sculpture manufactured and installed by S3i - Stainless Steel Solutions.

The new Cafe Consort rooms have been restored to their original proportions, with clearer spaces, velvet panelled inner walls and cut glass mirrors in the windows to maximise light.

The piece, known as The Helix, occupies the space traditionally reserved for a chandelier. Each Helix is 25m in length, made in stainless steel with 148 discs of lightly etched glass, and spiral through the restaurants like two elongated strands of illuminated DNA.

The Helix, whilst robust and highly efficient, has the appearance of great delicacy and fragility, and is the perfect complement to the sensitively restored restaurants.

Winner: Best Leisure Lighting Scheme

Winner: Best Hotel, Bar or Restaurant

FX International Design Awards 2003

In 2005 it was short-listed for the Bombay Sapphire Award

Manufacture: S3i - Stainless Steel Solutions
Installation: S3i - Stainless Steel Solutions
Lead Design: Softroom Architects; Chris Bagot www.softroom.com
Design: Carpenter/Lowings Architecture and Design Ltd; Luke Lowings and Valerie Spalding www.carpenterlowings.com
Engineering: Ove Arup & Partners; Mike King www.arup.com
Glass: Instrument Glasses, Enfield
Setting-out: Coffey Construction; Arthur Davies
Photography: Joseph Burns