Leicester Square is a sprawling hub of culture and entertainment in London’s West End. Overlooking the square is the Londoner, a new 5-star hotel that opened its doors in September 2021.One of the first of its kind, this “super-boutique” hotel boasts intimate spaces for its guests, and extra special attention to detail. With its 350 luxury rooms and suites, a cinema, 6 eateries and bars, and an entire floor dedicated to wellness, it took 6 years to complete.
The hotel is unique in that it is 8 stories above ground and 8 stories below ground, where you will find many of the Londoner’s amenities. The construction of this hotel initially caused quite a stir, as the digging required to build the sub-ground floors was directly in between two of London’s tube lines. It is in these subterranean floors where you will find three Skyfold walls.
One of the Skyfold walls divides the underground ballroom in to 2 equally sized smaller venues. The ballroom has a max capacity of 42 large dining tables that each seat 12. This is, in part, thanks to Skyfold, where at nearly 48 ft (14,485 mm) long, the pocket to house a traditional operable wall would have taken valuable floor space.
The other 2 Skyfold walls split up the Londoner’s meeting rooms, all of which are named after a famous London gallery. The Skyfold wall splitting the 2 smallest rooms seals against a traditional glass operable wall system, allowing for even more flexibility.
All 3 Skyfold walls are finished with a beautiful oak wood veneer that compliments the Londoner’s curated décor.
The designers at the Londoner were looking for clean sight lines (especially for the ballroom), and considering the current and future hygiene requirements, loved that Skyfold eliminated the requirement of multiple operators having to manually touch surfaces to reconfigure a space. Coupled with the saved floor space, clean design, and ease of operation, Skyfold was able to solve the Londoner’s design challenges.