New Denmark HQ project for Schneider Electric.

Herbert & Duncalf were recently invited to submit proposals for the European Multinational, Schneider Electric, one of Europe’s largest energy management and automation companies.

Schneider have recently purchased a building in Copenhagen which they intend to transform into a new Headquarters for the Danish operations, bringing together a number of previously disparate groups under one roof, a move seen as both a cultural and physical shift for all involved, as these previously separate entities will now be able to work together and discover new synergies and efficiencies in their working practices.

One of the key features of the new building is a large 3 level atrium space which represents an excellent opportunity to communicate the company’s expertise and ethos.

Realising the potential of this huge space was fundamental to the success of the project, and our proposals include for a reception, exhibition spaces, meeting areas, a cafe/restaurant and library and educational facilities.

NOM Deli: Dining & Food to Go…

Since August last year, we have been working alongside Norwegian restaurant group Blender developing a new deli and restaurant concept for various  locations across Norway.

Named Nom (translated for those in the UK as ‘mmm…’) we have helped to develop the offer’s strategic positioning in what is undoubtedly a competitive market place. This has involved designing the overall brand identity, and its application through all aspects of the offer including new restaurant interiors, product display, menus, deli and food to go packaging as well as new staff uniforms.

The first Nom opened at the beginning of June in Ski Storsenter just outside of Oslo in Norway and we wish Blender every success with the new concept.

 

 

 

Le Sommelier, Bredgade

Since developing the FAB Award winning Le Sommelier at Copenhagen Airport, we have been working on the design for the original landmark Le Sommelier Brasserie on Bredgade in Central Copenhagen.

Le Sommelier originally opened its doors in 1997 with Michelin stared chef Francis Cardenau and Award Winning Sommeliers Jesper Boelskifte and Erik Gemal at the helm. Over the intervening years, Le Sommelier has become the City’s landmark bistro, famed for its consistently impressive French cuisine and amazing wine list.

For Herbert & Duncalf the challenge has been to preserve the unique and cosy atmosphere alongside developing a sensitive approach to redesigning the interior. Le Sommelier will re open its doors to the public this coming August (2014) and we are most definitely looking forward to settling down for dinner and wine in one of our favourite restaurants.

The Daily Meal – Top 10 Airport Restaurants in the World 2013

Happy New Year to you all…

Some excellent news to round off another successful year for us. We’ve just found out that our Bar and Bistro at Copenhagen airport Terminal 2 for Le Sommelier, has been voted the best airport restaurant in the world for 2013 by The Daily Meal website.

As the screen grab above attests, this respected American site produced a shortlist of their 35 most highly rated airport dining experiences, and ours came out on top…

Congratulations all round, as this is the second award for we’ve now won for Le Sommelier.

Another Award for MASH London …

Last night at a star studded event over at the increasingly trendy Troxy in East London, MASH won the award for The Best London Restaurant 2013 at the London Lifestyle Awards. Now in their 3rd year these increasingly influential awards were created to celebrate the best of London’s style, people and culture.

We don’t have a breakdown of the figures for this year’s voting as yet, but last year well over 250,000 public online votes were received, and the organisers are confident that this year’s total for the 21 different categories will easily surpass that.

Fantastic news indeed, and once again a huge congratulations to everyone involved, recognition for our work and design ability is always appreciated…

Click the screen grab below to visit the LLA site for more information…

Zizzi in Brentwood

We are pleased to announce that the newly refurbished Zizzi restaurant in Brentwood has recently reopened for business after a quick refresh.

The idea of our proposals was to bring a touch of Italian Glamour to the streets of Brentwood, to create a fresh new environment full of panache and bright, bold colours… which we think has been achieved in spades, especially when seen in conjunction with the concept sketches at the end…

FAB Awards – A win for Le Sommelier @ Copenhagen Airport…

After out near miss a few weeks ago, when our shortlisted London MASH project was just pipped to the post at the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards, we’re all very excited to learn this morning that at our Le Sommelier Bar & Bistro at Copenhagen Airport beat off some famous and highly regarded names to win the Best Airport Chef Led Dining Award at last night’s FAB Awards Ceremony at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai.

Excellent news indeed, what a great way to start the day…

Operated by SSP, Le Sommelier opened at the very end of last year and was an immediate success with its unique offer of light, French inspired meals created by the award winning chef Francis Cardenau, all served in a relaxed and informal atmosphere at the heart of a bustling Terminal 2.

In what can only be described as very successful night, Copenhagen Airport walked away as clear winners of two Awards along with a Commendation for Airport Food & Beverage Offer the Year. As we have now designed and created three of the offers at the Airport (Le Sommelier, Food Market and MASH) we think we can be rightly proud of  their success, happy in the knowledge that we played a part in making it possible.

Our congratulations to everyone involved.

As a quick aside, we are currently working on a redesign and refurbishment of Francis’s original Le Sommelier Wine Bar & Brasserie in Central Copenhagen. More of which soon…

A full list of all last night’s winners can be found here, and the Moodie Report web pages are here.

Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2013

It’s been a while since we’ve posted on this blog, so I thought we’d get back into the habit by announcing the fantastic news that we’ve been shortlisted in this years Restaurant and Bar Design Awards for our successful and very well received MASH restaurant in the heart of London’s Soho..

Now in its 5th year, the R&BDA is an independent competition which receives nominations from the world’s top architects, designers and hospitality operators for completed projects in a wide range of categories including London restaurant, restaurant or bar in a hotel and standalone restaurant, the category into which MASH has been entered.

In all over 650 entries for both UK and international projects were submitted this year, so we are very pleased to have made it to the last 7 in our category.

This year’s Awards ceremony is tonight (12th September) and will be held in the quite magnificent Farmiloe Building in Smithfield (a place I know well from being a regular visitor to Clerkenwell Design Week over the years). There will also be a book published later in October with all the entries in, which will be a nice thing to have.

Mike and Ben have dug their suits out for tonight’s event and will be heading off for an evening of fun with the restaurants owners and operators, whilst Emily and I have been dusting down a suitable shelf here in the office for the award to sit on tomorrow morning… So fingers crossed for success, I certainly think we deserve it…

As an aside, prior to the event we received through the post several intriguing packages. With little or no text except to reference the R&BDA and the “Box Project”, this one is particularly fine, although we can’t decide if it was made as a cast or by a prototyping/ 3D printer…

Ben and Mike come to life…

We’ve recently been visited by WebVideoPro, a new film production company who specialise in making short promotional videos, and we think the video that they’ve made about us is rather good.

It showcases our office and our various abilities and gives Mike and Ben an opportunity to discuss their approach to design with a focus on our very successful and recently completed MASH project in Central London…

See what you think, and give us a ring if you would like to know more…

New Le Sommelier restaurant at CPH in the Moodie Report

We have this week completed a stunning new restaurant for the Danish Restaurant Group Copenhagen Concepts & SSP in Terminal 2 at Copenhagen Airport.

Called Le Sommelier and offering a stylish French Bar & Bistro culinary experience, the new outlet follows on from the success of the now well established and respected Le Sommelier restaurant in Copenhagen’s City Centre.

With its 36 metre long zinc finished bar and 1.5 metre diameter clock above, there is already a buzz around the new opening with a huge amount of very positive coverage in the press, with features in the Moodie Report,  Airports International  and  The Travel Retail Business to name just a few.