022 | PROJECT | HILTON HEATHROW
High Flying Design The Hilton at Heathrow Airport received a redesign by interior design consultants Hirsch Bedner Associates in 2021. Matteo Pace, Associate at HBA, discusses its design approach to the public spaces.
The concept for the redesign of The Hilton at Heathrow Airport is centred around connecting guests to the great British landscape with a “view from above”, inspired by the sights captured when flying in and out of the airport. Building on the existing architecture, HBA’s new design included a full refurbishment of the ground floor entrance lobby, café, bar, and restaurant. “We started the project in November 2019, and completed it at the beginning of April 2021,” Pace tells darc. “The initial briefing was to create a synergy between the landscape, and the view from above. This concept was the starting point and direction that Hilton
wanted us to go towards. “The brief was very clear from the beginning and well received by our team, so we didn’t face any major challenges when developing this project. We were brought in to enhance their preliminary ideas and bring our expertise to the fore,” he explains. Elektra Lighting was appointed to work on the project by the hotel as lighting consultants to aid the design teams with the overall scheme. “The hotel appointed Elektra as we had worked on many projects for them before, we were fully familiar with the brand’s standards and had a wealth of experience in independent restaurants,” says Neil Knowles,
