Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa
Lausanne, Switzerland

A gleaming geometric glass feature screen greets you in the cool marble entrance to the iconic turreted Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa. It consists of 5 separate arched glass panels coated in bronze, black & silver Verre Eglomisé mirrorwork, made in our studios in England.

As part of our contribution to MKV Designs renovation of the Art Nouveau style five star historic hotel, we experimented with lacquered mirror for installation within the curved stone façade in the reception, and concierge. The result is a striking trompe l’oeil effect, akin to metal fretwork, and resonating with the mosaic flooring and other architectural detailing.

We wanted the pattern to align perfectly when the individual panels were installed. This was a major exercise in draughtsmanship. Painstakingly measuring and drawing by hand the hundreds of rectangles and squares directly onto a specialist resist overlay. The next stage involved meticulously scoring through the drawn outlines and carefully picking out precise shapes of resist revealing clear glass zones to be silvered and backpainted.

The reception screen serves to obscure the lounge behind. An important element of the design brief was to enable staff located in the office behind the concierge desk to discretely observe through the 3D effect Verre Eglomisé screen the arrival of guests.