Most contemporary corporate design hasn’t achieved much glory in recent years and the world of business hospitality rarely implies sharp-suited design brilliance. So when Club Wembley approached Wallpaper* to reshape its Director’s Box, we seized the chance to enhance the ultimate corporate space, creating a high-end showcase for contemporary design as well as a calm refuge in the lofty heights of this iconic stadium.
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The Wallpaper* Composed team have played a blinder for their debut game in this field, bringing together classic pieces and bold – but not brash – colours and forms. Led by interiors editor Amy Heffernan, the redesigned box transforms the image of corporate hospitality – banishing the stale cucumber sandwiches, scuffed floors and art culled from stationery catalogues – and creates a space that’s up to the standard of the Foster-designed stadium itself.
The Director’s Box is one of 160 private boxes run by Club Wembley, and becomes one of the most desirable places to enjoy a concert or game. From the outset, team Wallpaper* decided to shape the spaces so that they worked in a variety of ways; a formal dining area, a work hub and a lounge area form three distinctive zones.
The aim was to create a softer, more salon-like feel, toning down the visual onslaught outside the windows so that the atmosphere was more intimate and accommodating. From a colourist’s point of view, the Wembley windows offer a fairly unrelenting palette –a pool of green grass amid a vast ring of red seating. As a result, colour, form and individual pieces were carefully selected to create a more domestic feel without sacrificing quality or simplicity.
Furniture was expertly mixed to shape as well as to subdivide the space, while the colours reference the world outside, with more subdued hues of red and green, all paired with Bolon’s blue ‘Cerulean’ flooring.
In the middle of the box, a more functional space is defined by Dual Design tables and bold red chairs by Thomas Bentzen, a nod to the terraces outside. The hospitality space is graced with Claesson Koivisto Rune’s ‘Modulor’ dining table and Kvadrat-upholstered ‘Beetle’ chairs from Gubi. The softer approach is enhanced by upholstered walls and a scattering of classic imagery from the Wallpaper* archives.
For Wembley, it’s a win-win. The box’s new design ensures that the venue’s hospitality clients are treated to a superior aesthetic experience, upping the game in a hard-won field. As for us, we’re hoping that by creating the best seats in the house we’ll have the occasional chance to use them.
The spaces in the Director's Box are shaped so that they work in a variety of ways; a formal dining area (pictured), a work hub and a lounge area form three distinctive zones
The aim was to create a softer, salon-like feel, toning down the visual onslaught outside the windows so that the atmosphere was more intimate and accommodating
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