Background
Diagon were tasked with the transformation and interior refit of Wellington Arch for Haig Club London’s weeklong residency. David Beckham and business partner Simon Fuller were to host a series of exclusive dinner events in the iconic London landmark to celebrate the launch of Haig Club London.
The Brief
Diagon were contracted by Hart Productions to execute Amanda Sheppard’s designs for the interior. Inspired by the private members clubs featured in the original Haig “Clubman series” adverts of the 1920’s, the design included a Haig Club bar, a hidden whisky snug, and a dining room for 24 guests connected by an oak panelled staircase.
Wellington Arch was built as the original entrance to Buckingham Palace, later becoming a victory arch proclaiming Wellington’s defeat over Napoleon. Usually a completely empty space managed by English Heritage, devoid of any internal architectural features, the spaces within the arch were meticulously surveyed by Diagon using state of the art 3D scanning equipment.
The Process
With the computer generated scans of the interior, giving millimetre perfect dimensions, Diagon’s project managers and carpentry department were able to design and build a complete new interior for the grade II listed property. Wooden panelled walls, solid oak parquet floors, ornate suspended ceilings were all fitted into the venue seamlessly, without needing anything to be fixed into the fabric of the building.
Access up to the top two floors of the arch were limited to a small stairwell so nothing larger than 2.5m x 1m could be loaded in to the venue. Manually hoisting each of the 270 set components through the centre of the stairwell to the fifth floor, within 5 days the transformation was complete and ready for styling.
Turning a bright idea into something truly exceptional.
All case studies