Client: British Airways
Type of works: supply of Dimplex SP9 Optiflame^® fires.

Dimplex fires are taking off for international prestige as the focal points in the premium executive lounges at the £4.3 billion new British Airways Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow airport.

Ten Dimplex SP9 Optiflame^® fires have been selected by the British Airways global lounge design team to create focal points in the Terminal’s galleries complex which houses the exclusive Concorde, First Class and Business Class lounges. The galleries complex is the largest and most luxurious in the world and is accessible only to the airline’s top tier passengers. The lounges are designed to deliver a luxury boutique hotel experience for British Airways’ premium class travellers, with spas, private cabanas, work and entertainment zones in an opulent designer setting that features Swarovski crystal chandeliers and specially commissioned artworks by leading designers.

Dimplex SP9 fires, with sleek modern lines and the award winning Optiflame^® effect were selected as the focal points for the lounge areas, set into striking contemporary fireplaces using limestone hearths and limestone or Black basalt surrounds.

Gary Ranns, British Airways design head for the airline’s new global lounge concept selected Dimplex fires for the galleries in the new Terminal which has been acclaimed as a “stunning showcase for UK PLC”.

“This is one of the major design projects of the decade, a world showcase for British Airways and we set out to incorporate only the very best of British style. The Dimplex SP9 fires met our criteria almost as if they were designed for us as we can keep the flame effects lit without heat year round, ensuring we maintain the right mood for discerning travellers,” he explains.

The galleries space, comprising six separate, exclusive lounges covers 20,000 square metres within the new terminal which is the size of 50 football pitches. The area incorporates leading edge and premium brands such as Elemis spas, exclusively designed Osborne & Little furnishings, while the main terminal building itself has 140 shopping and dining outlets, including a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, Harrods and Prada. The terminal opened to the general public at the end of March 2008 and was officially opened by HM The Queen on 14 March 2008.