The brief
Take a stroll down London’s famous King’s Road and you’ll see one restaurant stand out from the rest. Vardo, which opened in 2019, seems to bring together design cues from the area’s 1960’s heyday, combined with a bold modern finish.
Group GA’s reputation for exceptional high-end service installation and maintenance meant they were an ideal fit for this stunning, complex new enterprise. Working closely with the project team and the architects, Group GA were briefed to design and install a range of different precision services, hidden away from view, and able to keep this luxury restaurant functioning at all times.
The project
The unusual sunken design and spectacular curved layout, including the incorporation of a Grade II listed wall, presented the electrical and mechanical teams at Group GA with some real challenges.
The immaculate black terrazzo floor needed to be warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. Group GA worked with their renewable technology experts to find and fit a high-efficiency air source heat pump, delivered via the ground slab. To keep the basement kitchen properly ventilated, the team also installed a high-efficiency heat reclaim ventilation system. While the electricians handled the lighting arrays, complete with low-energy fittings.
The biggest hurdle was hiding all the required electrical cabling, heating and domestic pipework, and power plant room requirements into such small spaces. The team needed to work around tight basement conditions, including the kitchen, private dining area and even the special trenches that housed the unique glazing counterweight mechanism.
The ornate ceiling, constructed of ashwood slatting that extends out from the restaurant’s central column, was also required to hide a host of different ventilation ducts, fire alarms and sensors.
The result
The restaurant quickly became a ‘must visit’ for foodies and locals, while the building itself won accolades in the architecture world.
Our best compliment? The client described our plant room solution as ‘a work of art’.
See inside the project …
