National Association of Shopfitters Design Partnership Awards
2007
Winner: The Diamond Club for The Arsenal Football Club, Emirates
Stadium, London
The design brief handed to 20/20 Ltd was "to create the best
place in the
world to watch football" and it was agreed between client and designer
that
the Diamond Club environment should reflect and embrace the Art Deco
style and the marble halls of the previous Arsenal FC ground, Highbury
Stadium, whilst also being modern, contemporary, up-to-date. The
Diamond
Club was to have an air of understated luxury - a 21st Century
Gentlemen's
Club, which would be confident, elegant and luxurious. Materials of the
highest quality were used to create this. The construction processes
were
some of the most stringent to be employed by the design team and this
called for a close-knit relationship between designer and shopfitters,
Hadleys, over the course of the 18 month project.
The end result is a stunningly crafted environment. The
Diamond Club
is,
unquestionably, the best place in the world to watch football from.
The judges comments:
"The judges were unanimous in their choice of this year's winner.
Luxurious
spaces demand large budgets, but what impressed the judges was the
concept behind the design. The Diamond Club is a world class piece of
work
that was inspired by the original ground's Art Deco heritage to create
a luxury
lounge for Arsenal's wealthiest fans. The attention to detail is
exemplary. For
example, design features include a series of beautifully executed and
cleverly conceived art pieces and marquetry panels that each tell the
story of
the Club's history. The Diamond Club raises the bar for all luxury
spaces".
Artifex London supplied the bar for the Diamond Club as well as the
Director's Bar and Servery to be found elsewhere in the stadium.