The InterContinental London Park Lane reopened on 6 November 2006 after a 60 million pound refurbishment program.

Artifex London were first approached in October 2004 by London-based designers J2 Design and consulted about concepts for a new Lounge Bar at the Intercontinental Hotel as well as ideas for a series of wall-mounted panels for the hotel reception lobby.

The design team of Josh Judd and Rebecca Roberts met with Artifex London in October 2004 at the London studio of artist Alan Halliday. Halliday was commissioned to produce images of six local London landmarks, which could then be transferred to panels of Italian travertine and inlaid with amber glass. The six views chosen were The Albert Memorial; The Hyde Park Screen; The Royal Albert Hall; The Wellington Arch with statue of Winged Victory; Apsley House (No. One London) and The Queen Mother Gate.

Each panel is constructed from Italian Travertino Chiaro. The images are waterjet cut into the stone using CNC machining techniques that are faithful to the original drawings by the artist and then inlayed with amber glass. The panels, manufactured in Italy in early 2006, each measure 1 meter square. Artifex employed Steel Dreams Ltd to fabricate brackets that secure the panels to the wall and to install the lighting system which illuminates each panel.

Alan Halliday was also commissioned by Artifex London to create a design for the front of the lobby bar which was constructed from a black, Belgian marble and infused with a ribbon of amber glass. The bar top is constructed from a veneer-cut, translucent Honey Onyx, laminated to glass to enhance its structural integrity and lit by a Prismex fibre-optic lighting system.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms. The Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 3,650 hotels and 543,775 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.