A nine month gestation period for a british business embassy...

By BIID Past President Diana Yakeley: 

Late in November 2011 I found myself on a creative panel to help turn Lancaster House, a mini Buckingham Palace next to St James's Palace, into a UKTI British Business Embassy for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Eighteen palatial rooms were to showcase British Design and provide practical places for delegates to meet and do business, attend global seminars and, perhaps a trifle optimistically, help turn around the economy.

The house is managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth office and used for Government hospitality and very high security global conferences, as well as being the occasional backdrop for films such as the King's Speech . The idea behind the ‘Embassy' was to capture the imagination of global business leaders visiting the UK by showcasing the best of what the UK has to offer in some of our most successful industries such as fashion, architecture, technology, life sciences, advanced engineering, automotive and aerospace, on designated sector days. Speakers included David Cameron, Vince Cable, George Osborne Jonathan Ive, Christine Lagarde, Stella McCartney and a host of the world' s most successful business men, women and entrepreneurs.

The brief was to borrow pieces of furniture and accessories from designers and manufacturers - note, borrow - there was no budget for the project but it all had to be well co-ordinated and in keeping with the brief, as well as the scale of this extraordinary building, and of course, no extension of time!

It soon became clear that one designer needed to curate the selection of items if this project was to work at all, not a committee. Doubts were expressed about the sheer number of pieces needed - 420 conference chairs, occasional seating for a similar number, and not just any piece that we could borrow but those that looked right together in their setting - Louis XIV red damask and gold leaf dominating these extraordinary rooms - the Long Gallery alone is 38 meters long. Less is more came later.

The Government Art Collection, working with the Whitechapel gallery brought modern British works to hang in place of the traditional portraits, completely transforming rather staid rooms with Bridget Riley's wonderful op art pieces, Damian Hurst's Enchanted butterfly work, and the most impressive Grayson Perry tapestry, Map of Truths and Beliefs, for the Long Gallery. Out went a particularly dark and gruesome beheading, in came a vibrant Howard Hodgkin. A cloakroom was transformed into a Ministerial Lounge with Norman Foster leather armchairs and tables by BIID industry partner Ochre. A Crafts Council installation of coloured glass laboratory like flasks glowed along a ledge previously used for coat hangers. Hopefully some contemporary works will remain in the house as part of the legacy of the 2012 Games, they certainly bring a breath of fresh air to the formal rooms.

As with the Games itself, it was people who shone. Robert Alexander, Head of Government Hospitality and his wonderful assistant, David Allen who run Lancaster House with practised ease and diplomacy know EVERYTHING there is to know about, well, government hospitality, what works and what categorically doesn't. From the way table cloths hang to the most usable/aesthetically pleasing pieces of ceremonial silver, from the niceties of seating four former prime ministers together amicably, to knowing which heads of state may need (diplomatically) reinforced seating. They exemplified tact and diplomacy despite the traumatic upheaval caused - the wonderful gardens were excavated to proved disabled access to a new glass and timber pavilion and sound and lighting technicians wove miles of cable and gaffer tape around the Grade 1 listed rooms and marbled walls. Only the occasional pursed mouth silence or gently raised eyebrow indicated that I might wish to reconsider my decision.

For a few weeks the hushed halls of diplomacy were home to set builders, carpenters, film crews, picture hangers and one very privileged interior designer. It was rather like an up market Changing Rooms on a rather grand scale and without the tearfully grateful or otherwise, client. Riccardo motor engines were nail bitingly heaved up the listed marble staircase, whilst 4 metre Heatherwick steel extrusion benches were almost dwarfed by the sheer scale of the Grand Hall. Would it all work? Would we make the deadline of the largest Global conference ever held in London? As with Changing Rooms, the deadline was approaching and the step ladders and protective wrappings were still lying around, the multi screen plasmas still needing adjusting. Of course it worked - as the government campaign declared - Britain is Great!

I learned to love the gilded architraves and doors, marvelled at the magnificent hinges and handle details, and to glide up and down the most palatial double staircase as though I owned the swarovski india place. Having a superb Guards brass band playing 40's swing tunes outside one's door at 10.30 every morning has its' charms, as does being allowed behind the Police security point with a cheery wave from the duty officer. To play a small part in the 2012 celebrations was a unique privilege and who knows -perhaps the newly announced thirteen billion pound economic boost to the country has been agreed on British designed furniture surrounded by British art and Craft in the sumptuous setting of the Grand old Duke of York's town house. I do hope so, and actually More is More might be my new mantra, until the euphoria has died down anyway!