BARS & RESTAURANTS
Hélène Darroze
at The Connaught
Mayfair
Described by the Connaught as “an elegant expression of craft,” chef Hélène Darroze’s dining room at this esteemed hotel was redesigned by French designer Pierre Yovanovitch. The chairs, banquettes and table bases for the venue were made by Ben Whistler.
Pierre Yovanovitch is known for furniture design as well as his interiors
Each piece was prototyped before going into production. Curvy shapes are a unifying feature of all the seating and several styles of chair were made for the project, as well as banquettes that were made in a single piece rather than assembled on site, so that their backs could be seam-free.
Curvy shapes are a unifying feature of all the seating
Ben Whistler made oak upholstered chairs for a new chef’s table area, as well as hourglass-shaped champagne tables made from Jesmonite, a cast resin. Table bases featuring a central cluster of three legs with a high-gloss finish, were also supplied.
THE CRAFT: WOODTURNING
The oak legs on this dining chair were machine-turned on a lathe, to ensure that every leg was an exact replica of the other. The design started life as a CAD drawing; a template is then CNC-cut from the drawing, before the timber is turned on a copy lathe where the cutting tool follows the template to create the desired shape.
