Client: Virgin Atlantic
Location: Terminal 3, London Heathrow
Architect: Softroom
Designer: Softroom & Virgin Atlantic Design Team
Product: GLO (White Onyx) & Durat
Application: Cocktail bar, Salon desk, Greeter Pods
Contractor: Swift Horsman
Completion: August 2005
Photography: © Richard Davies
Images courtesy of: Softroom / Virgin Atlantic Media Centre
Designed by award-winning London architect Softroom and completed in 2007 to a budget of £11 million, the 2,500 m2 Clubhouse is the flagship of the Virgin brand. Embodying Virgin’s unrivalled reputation for hospitality, the Clubhouse features a full complement of leisure facilities including a poolside lounge, bar, restaurant, library, business centre, salon and spa. Located at south side of Heathrow’s Terminal 3, Virgin’s sleek business class suite exceeds the standards set by its sister lounge at JFK airport and for many, the Clubhouse is unquestionably the most breathtaking VIP lounge anywhere in the world.
The lively bar area is at the very heart of the Clubhouse. Artifex London was appointed to supply the 14 meter cocktail bar, a subcontract they awarded to Heath House, a specialist firm of cabinetmakers in West Yorkshire. The bar somewhat resembles an aircraft carrier – its hull, fabricated in a white Durat from Finland, (a solid surface composite containing recycled post-industrial plastics); cantilevered prow and black granite base. The upper section contains panels of pure White Onyx which are backlit and laminated to glass on their outer surfaces.
Artifex also supplied the reception desk for the Cowshed Salon and Spa in addition to the ‘Greeter pods’ used by Virgin staff to meet and direct passengers. Like the cocktail bar, these items were fabricated in white Durat and feature backlit panels of White Onyx.
The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse has won multiple accolades including ‘Best Airport Lounge’ in the 2012 Ultratravel Awards.