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Venue Focus Magazine Feature, Autumn 2006 - 'Halls of Fame'

Address:	The Royal Horticultural Halls, 80 Vincent Square SW1
Tel	020 7828 4125
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Venue Focus Magazine Feature, Autumn 2006 - 'Halls of Fame' Information:

The Royal Horticultural Halls have long impressed with their stylish looks, but a recent refit has given them modern flexibility, says Louise Troy

If you’ve watched BBC1 over the past three years, you’ll probably already be aware of the Lawrence Hall’s impressive vaulted ceiling. The biggest of the Royal Horticultural Halls was the location for one of the Beeb’s most iconic pre-programme trailers – the one in which white-clad acrobats unfurl themselves from lengths of red ribbon.

The trailer certainly shows off the dimensions of the hall, which is owned by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and located in the heart of Westminster, just behind Victoria Street. Along with the smaller Lindley Hall and an adjacent seven-room conference centre, it’s part of a beautiful and historic Grade II-listed venue that has just emerged from a £1.2m refurbishment.

Between them, the Lawrence and Lindley halls have an impressive events pedigree, having hosted everything from early suffragette meetings to Alexander McQueen’s breakthrough fashion show. And the RHS takes its history seriously. Managing director Rene Dee says he has a record of every event that has taken place in the halls – that’s no mean feat considering one of them is 102 years old and the other 79.

But this is not the kind of venue to rest on its laurels. ‘The refurbishment was a complete upgrade to improve the facilities – state-of-the-art AV equipment throughout, air-conditioning in the Lindley Hall, and new carpets for the conference centre – the original floor was stone, which is cold and noisy,’ says Dee. A tour of the venue takes in some of the most stunning architecture in this part of London, and one of the most picturesque – and accessible – locations. The halls are next to leafy Vincent Square, home of a playing field for Westminster School, and a 10-minute walk from St James’s Park and Victoria and Pimlico tube stations.

The Lawrence Hall is the larger of the two halls. ‘It’s an iconic building in its own right,’ says Dee, pointing out that it is also one of the few buildings in central London that can accommodate 1,000 people theatre-style, or 700-800 for banqueting. Built in 1927, the hall was based on a model seen by the architects at a Swedish design expo. They were captivated by the wooden parabolic arch they saw, and decided to recreate it in Britain using reinforced concrete – a daring and untried move at the time. Their gamble paid off, and the building won a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects. The medal is still proudly displayed on the wall.

It’s easy to see why the building captivated the public in the 1920s – and latterly the BBC. It’s such an imposing space, with its 60ft-high ceiling in which there are a dozen domed skylights and another 56 large windows high up in the walls. The overall impression is one of space and light – although Dee tells me that this has proved a drawback for the venue in the past. ‘The hall was built by the Royal Horticultural Society for flower shows, which require light,’ he says. ‘But we found there was often too much light for conferences.’ So, as part of the summer refit, blackout blinds have been installed, allowing event organisers to change the light levels at the flick of a switch.

Kamran Khavari, whose company has organised Paul Smith’s fashion shows at the venue for the past five years, is enthusiastic about the refit. ‘We could never do the winter shows in the Lawrence Hall before because there were no blackout curtains and we wanted an intimate feel to the venue,’ he says, adding: ‘Now we have the option of light for a summer show – such as the one where we covered the floor in grass – and dark for winter. It’s a prestigious venue, the location is fantastic and the building is beautiful. Paul [Smith] loves it.’

The space is coolly neutral, its brick walls and beige paint providing a blank canvas for event organisers, which allows it to be used for receptions, exhibitions and awards ceremonies. Following the completion of its major refurbishment, the venue now boasts acoustic blinds down one wall, full soundproofing and an intelligent lighting system that can create a variety of colours and effects. And to counter the acoustic challenges of such a large space, a directional PA system has also been installed. To support the introduction of all these gizmos, the halls are hiring their first dedicated technical services supervisor.

Despite the electronic wizardry, the venue retains many of its original art deco fittings, such as the ‘boaters’ – rectangular light-shades in yellow and green. The entrance, which is bounded by semi-circular black and gold doors, still features its original turnstiles, making you feel as if you are entering a scene from The Great Gatsby. Underneath the hall, there is a cafe-bar and restaurant, operated by in-house caterer Leith’s, which is also able to provide catering for all events – anything from canapes to gala dinners. But the RHS has a waiver clause allowing other companies to provide food here if organisers wish. These include established brands, such as Create and The Admirable Crichton, as well as newer faces such as Jackson Gilmour.

Just off the foyer of the Lawrence Hall is the entrance to the conference centre, which can be used independently or in conjunction with the hall. There’s a lecture theatre – seating 90 or 200, depending on the way the room is partitioned – and two floors of meeting rooms that can cater variously for between 15 and 150 delegates. The three rooms on the second floor can be used on their own or in a combination of two or three (the third-floor rooms, by contrast, can only be used singly), and are often used as reception and registration areas for visitors using the lecture theatre.

All rooms are light and airy, and have undergone a total transformation. Besides the full carpeting, there’s a new desk, lighting and plasma screen at reception to direct guests. The lecture theatre has been redecorated, its original dark wood now complemented by slate-blue walls. And although the meeting rooms all have white screens and a data projector, the 1920s feel continues in teak tables and black leather chairs. The ‘nuts and bolts’ have also been upgraded: there are now phones in every room, and wireless internet is available throughout the centre.

The Lindley Hall, just around the corner, was refurbished five years ago and has needed less work. Like its larger sibling, it has an imposing glass roof – also with blackout blinds – which, combined with the blue-grey walls, gives it a similar elegance. It also benefits from intelligent lighting, newly installed air-conditioning and a directional PA system. The renovation started in the last week of July and had to be squeezed into a six-week gap in the venue’s packed schedule. But there will be no rest for the venue’s staff, who are now looking forward to a packed Christmas schedule. ‘People have always been attracted to the venue for its size and structure but were faced with disincentives,’ says Dee. ‘What was holding us back was that the halls, particularly the Lawrence Hall, weren’t very flexible. It now has a greater appeal.’

Click through for venue reviews of The Royal Horticultural Halls, Lawrence Hall & Lindley Hall.