One of London’s newest and most prestigious hotels is using bespoke hexagonal and square aluminium ‘Forma’ column casings, which were supplied and installed by Encasement, to conceal structural steelwork in its ground floor bar and restaurant areas.

The ‘Mondrian London at Sea Containers House’ hotel is part of the Morgan Hotels Group collection and is situated on London’s busy South Bank between OXO Tower and Blackfriars Bridge.

Although originally designed as a luxury hotel in the 1970s by US architect Warren Platner, it was used subsequently used as office space with one of the occupants, Sea Containers, lending its name to the building.

Leading interiors group, Design Research Studio headed by Tom Dixon, have completely transformed the building using nautical references throughout the hotel, such as an internal and external copper clad wall, inspired by the hull of a ship which features in its 1500 sq.mtr ground floor area with two riverside restaurants and a breakfast bar where Encasement’s column casings are located.

Each of the 16 column casings is manufactured from 3mm thick perforated aluminium, which is finished with a black PPC coating and lined with acoustic foam to help reduce noise and reverberations within the spacious bar area.

Standing more than 2.5 metres high, the hexagonal casings measure over 1600mm at their widest point, while the square casings, some of which also act as waiter stations within the restaurant, are 1300mm wide.