Harrods London store photos, Knightsbridge shopping building, New Outlet news, British high-class retail location

Harrods London : Knightsbridge Department Store

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The White Hall, Harrods Outlet

Architects: Woods Hardwick ; Interior design: GA Group ; Lighting design: Optelma

Optelma’s bespoke lighting exudes opulence at The White Hall, Harrods

London: 7th of July 2021 – Standing proud in Knightsbridge, the world’s leading luxury department store, Harrods, has experienced impressive footfall since reopening its doors to loyal customers following the latest nationwide lockdown.

There is a lot to discover as you set foot into the iconic store located in the heart of London. Welcoming customers to the world’s ultimate beauty destination, The Beauty Halls at Harrods are positioned on the ground floor where shoppers will find prestigious brands and luxury products. Dedicated entirely to luxury skincare ranges, The White Hall is the second phase of the Beauty Hall renovation which has been reimagined as a glasshouse orangery within a private walled courtyard.

Leading architectural hybrid lighting company, Optelma, worked alongside renowned Lighting Designers Isometrix Lighting + Design, international award-winning interior design firm, the GA Group, and well-respected London-based contractor, Jaysam, to create an elegant, calm space with a luxurious feel encouraging customers to interact with the space and the products on offer.

Optelma embraced Isometrix’s and the GA Group’s design concept and visuals to curate a beautiful, bespoke lighting feature which was so meticulously thought out, it would be hard to distinguish between the final product and the initial design vision. Whilst achieving the desired aesthetic, a number of challenges were met throughout the installation, from engineering a maintainable system which incorporated other services, such as sprinklers, to working with 3D light boxes comprised of diffusers on two or three sides.

Designed to suit the GA Group’s unique interior, Optelma’s bespoke lighting incorporates Philips high-end Fortimo LED Drivers and Boards along with Casambi’s innovative technology to provide a futureproofed lighting control solution. Nine multi-panel sky lights, and downlights within the parade of the large LED panels, were installed to create the correct lighting levels and colours, whilst ensuring the finish was compliant with the necessary health, safety and fire regulations.

Throughout the design and installation, all project partners sought to sympathise with the building’s architectural past. Providing a dramatic contrast to the moodier adjacent foodhall, a more contemporary light palette was used for The White Hall with heritage inspired architectural detailing to complement the Beauty Halls scheme. Large architectural columns with stunning faceted white stone are proudly positioned in the centre of the space which showcases marble counters sitting beneath the feature skylight above. Lighting up the entire space, the skylight diverts the attention of the guests to make sure they look up and take in the beauty above.

Graham Watkinson, Managing Director at Optelma commented: “We were delighted to supply and install the lighting for this prestigious and iconic store. As with any commercial lighting installation, there were several hurdles to overcome including a very tight timeframe, and it was essential that all lighting can be easily accessed in the future should any maintenance issues arise. Thanks to Isometrix and The GA Group’s wealth of experience and an exceptional project team it was a fantastic brief and we are extremely proud of the finished look.”

Hannah Jacobs, Job Captain at The GA Group added: “Optelma’s bespoke panels were the perfect solution to fit the brief for The White Hall skylight. It was a pleasure to work with the Optelma team on this seemingly challenging brief which involved several intricate elements from design through to installation, and we were thrilled with the final result.”

The White Hall Harrods Outlet – Design Information

Project credits:

Images: Credit: Tony Fisher

Lighting Design Consultants: Isometrix Lighting + Design

Interior Designers: The GA Group

Architects: Woods Hardwick

MEP: Dowling Blunt

Contractor: Jaysam

Lighting Control: Casambi

About Optelma

For over 60 years, Optelma has been designing, manufacturing and delivering the finest lighting products for a wide range of international projects. It is well-equipped to provide creative and innovative lighting solutions, offering Standard products for quick specification, Made-to-Measure for customisable solutions and Bespoke luminaires for unique projects. In this constantly evolving world Optelma partners with key technology companies and manufacturers in the UK, Switzerland, France, Germany and the UAE, to provide the best service possible.

post updated 16 Dec 2019 ; 23 May 2010

Harrods

Famous Department Store

Date: 1894-1905

Architect: Charles William Stephens

General view of the building from northeast and picture of the shop window, May 2010:

photograph © Nick Weall

Harrods Department Store

Location: south side of Brompton Road, Knightsbridge

Address: 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL

Customer service: 020 7730 1234 (Consumer)

Founder: Charles Henry Harrod

Founded: 1834

Detail os a typical shop window, May 2010:

photo © Nick Weall

This is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods, and to Harrods Buenos Aires, sold in 1922 and closed as of 2011, with plans announced to reopen in 2013.

photo © Adrian Welch

The store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m2) site and has over one million square feet (90,000 m2) of selling space in over 330 departments making it the biggest department store in Europe.

photo © Isabelle Lomholt

The store motto is Omnia Omnibus Ubique—All Things for All People, Everywhere. Several of its departments, including the seasonal Christmas department and the Food Halls, are world famous.

This Knightsbridge Department Store occupies a 5-acre (20,000 m2) site and has over one million square feet (90,000 m2) of selling space in over 330 departments making it the biggest department store in Europe. The UK’s second-biggest shop, Selfridges, Oxford Street, is a little over half the size with 540,000 square feet (50,000 m2) of selling space, while the third largest, Allders of Croydon had 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of retail space.

photo © Adrian Welch

By comparison Europe’s second-largest department store the KaDeWe in Berlin has a retail space of 650,000 square feet (60,000 m2).
Source: wikipedia

Harrods Department Store

Location: 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL, England, United Kingdom

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