FOUR SEASONS KUWAIT SHINES WITH CUSTOM LIGHTING BY VISO INC.


VISO Inc. continues its impressive string of projects in the world of luxury hospitality by design-engineering a full custom hotel lighting solution for the stunning Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya.

The Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya is a part of a glittering new two-tower complex that is close to many business and leisure amenities. Working closely with the team at internationally acclaimed design firm, Yabu Pushelberg, VISO design-engineered and manufactured a huge array of custom hotel lighting solutions for the property.

The design team at Yabu Pushelberg provided VISO with their ideas and inspirations, including sketches and images, to help our team create the fixtures YP envisioned for the property. While some of the sketches were very specific and included measurements and material requirements, some of the sketches simply indicated the inspiration and design intent. We knew that the Four Seasons and Yabu Pushelberg stood for the best of the best and therefore, we knew that our task was to create a luxurious and timeless design to support the interior elements.

VISO’s work can be found in the restaurants, business lounge, ballrooms, meeting rooms, pool area, hallways and common areas. Utilizing elements such as brass, glass and resin, VISO created stunning custom hotel lighting fixtures, including the  brass chandelier that hangs in the lobby lounge. Other fixtures include custom ceiling installations on the ground and first floor, which utilize similar fixtures as the VISO Chestnut, rectangular pendant clusters in the meeting rooms, which utilize similar fixtures as the VISO Briggs, four large dome pendants in the first floor business lounge, a custom steel pendant lamp on the fourth floor dining area, a dandelion suspension lamp on the ground floor, geometric brass pedants in Elements Restaurant and glass and metal lanterns in the pool and spa area.


PROJECT CHALLENGES

One of the main challenges was to create fixtures that met the size and the scale of the hotel. For example, the main chandelier presented one of our first challenges. Due to its unique design, the design and engineering team needed to work together to achieve balance in the structure’s architecture. The chandelier was designed with individual L-shaped pieces: if the pieces were not put together correctly, it would pose a structural risk to the chandelier as a whole. For this reason, the specific size and placement of each L-shaped piece needed to be calculated accordingly to find the precise joining/suspension point in order to achieve structural balance and symmetry in the space.

Another challenge was in the business centre of the hotel. The room has a low ceiling and the client wanted to have four dome fixtures that can absorb the noise over each meeting table. This way, meetings conducted in the room could not be overheard and privacy could be retained. At the same time, Yabu Pushelberg wanted the fixtures to have a metal finish, be manufactured in one piece and to have indirect light emanating from it.

VISO’s team of designers and engineers came up with a new way to create a light that met all these requirements. They came up with a solution to create four extra-large domes made out of special acoustic resin to suspend over each meeting table. Next, the fixtures were finished with a special paint that proved challenging to apply. The paint, if finished properly, gives the carbon fiber the perfect metal finish. Finally, LEDs were installed inside the cove of the dome to provide a metallic glow, and on the top of the fixture to illuminate the ceiling with a soft glow. The result was a perfectly finished dome that met all the requirements.

On top of the technical challenges, there were cultural and communication challenges as well. VISO worked with the local team to coordinate site visits and installation and we had to make sure that nothing got lost in translation in order to ensure a smooth delivery and installation process.

A project of this size and scope poses many challenges in relation to lighting. By drawing on its extensive design and manufacturing experience creating exceptional custom lighting solutions with production facilities in Canada and Portugal, VISO delivered a full custom hotel lighting solution for the Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait.


Designer: Yabu Pushelberg
Location: Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait At Burj Alshaya
Product: Custom