Preciosa lights the way at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair

Many a designer will argue that the hotel lobby is where the biggest design impact can be made. Nowhere makes the case better than Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, where a bespoke light installation by Preciosa makes a memorable entrance

WORDS BY JESS MILES

The first new build in Mayfair for over a decade, Mandarin Oriental Mayfair sees Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners create a contemporary statement, while drawing a connection to the heritage architecture of its locale. The result is a modern yet elegant townscape façade, clad with burnt red brick “baguettes”, inspired by the Georgian terraces that surround the hotel. A Vierendeel structure, among the first in the UK, gives the interior wide spans and few interruptions, setting the scene for an interior design concept that embraces expanse to create moments of awe and wonder.

Inside, the guestrooms, suites and residences were imagined by Studio Indigo, with the public spaces by Tokyo-based studio Curiosity. Combined, their concepts draw Mandarin Oriental’s Asian heritage together with nature-inspired local references to create a distinct East-meets-West identity, using colour, lighting schemes and scale to great atmospheric effect.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the lobby and reception, where guests are stopped in their tracks as soon as they arrive. Rare green Ming marble – selected for its rich shade that mimics the leafy Hanover Square, Berkeley Square and Green Park nearby – wraps the walls to meet a grounding stone underfoot. Overhead, a bespoke installation by Preciosa lights the length of the arrival, floating above from the front door through to the reception desk – its sea of 851 hand-crafted crystal components dancing glimmers of light across the marble, glass and mirrored surfaces.

Czech-based luxury lighting design company Preciosa brings three centuries of glassmaking heritage together with modern technology to its projects, with nearly all its manufacturing done by hand under one roof in Crystal Valley. For Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, Preciosa collaborated with Clivedale company and their in-house team on a lighting display not only to accentuate key design features, but to transform how a guest feels within the space, shaping the atmosphere and subliminal journey. The brief was that it had to feel organic, rooted in the natural elements Curiosity had used throughout the hotel, while connecting the main entrance with the reception. Václav Och, the Preciosa designer on the project, chose earth as the guiding element.

“My inspiration came from the language of natural elements – fire, air, water, and earth – already embedded in the original concept of the property,” says Och. “I was particularly drawn to earth, translating its raw, grounded character into light through our Signature Design, Raw Crystal.”

Raw Crystal is one of Preciosa’s Signature Designs, made from components crafted by hand using materials and skills found only in Crystal Valley – which is why Preciosa has both trademarked and patented them. Each holds an LED diffuser, so the light glows from within the crystal rather than behind it. No two are the same shape, and no two catch the light the same way. The beauty of Raw Crystal is that it is an entirely customisable concept to specify – offering infinite possibilities for composition so interior designers can transform even the most complex of spaces.

Both images are of Preciosa lighting in the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair hotel. Image credit: Preciosa Lighting

Preciosa describes Raw Crystal as inspired by the wonder and vastness of the universe, brought to Earth for a touch of magnificence – a concept already rooted in the natural world, and one that gave Och the perfect foundation to create a composition that brought Curiosity’s vision to life. Bespoke to the space, Och and the team crafted an ethereal display, settling on two sizes and three colours of crystal components curated across an undulating span of 16 metres.

“The realised composition of Raw Crystal unfolds in an organic rhythm – at times the crystals gather into denser formations, elsewhere they loosen and drift apart. This movement reflects the slow, subtle shifting of rock over long periods of time,” says Och.

Installations of this scale demand as much ingenuity in execution as they do in design. Above the lobby, a mirror-polished stainless steel ceiling spanning the full width of the space had to be installed around existing HVAC systems, fire detection, speakers and cameras, all while the hotel remained fully operational. The structure was also required to support the Raw Crystal installation, which stretches across more than 50 square metres and weighs 1,640 kilograms. When site conditions proved different from the original drawings, Preciosa adapted the design and technical solution as the project progressed, ensuring seamless delivery without compromising the concept. The result is a mirrored plane that returns the whole installation to the room, making a far more immersive experience than a plain ceiling ever would. “It amplifies both the scale of the installation and the number of Raw Crystals,” says Och.

Whether passing the hotel from the street, checking in for the first time, or dining in the double-height restaurant below, Preciosa’s mesmerising installation provides a moment of respite from reality, allowing minds to get lost in the infinite galaxy that’s been brought down to the doorstep of Mandarin Oriental Mayfair.