Cambridge Consultants

Cambridge Consultants, a leading global technology company, was formed in 1960 to make the research and innovation of Cambridge University available to business on a commercial basis. Now with its UK headquarters located on the new science park in Cambridge, England, Cambridge Consultants comprises a global team of more than 900 engineers, scientists, designers and consultants all helping some the world’s leading brands and start-ups realise their technology aspirations.

Cambridge Consultants needed an impressive client-facing meeting room that would provide a comfortable meeting environment and the capability to be reconfigured quickly and easily for different types of events. Flexible meeting room furniture was therefore essential.

Bidwells, a leading multi-disciplinary property services business specialising in the design and project management of science and science-related projects in the UK’s “golden triangle” between Oxford, Cambridge and London, designed an innovative roof-top glass box to sit on the roof of the existing building. The new structure provides spectacular views of the rooftops of Cambridge and surrounding fenlands.

Despite the generous proportions of the new meeting room, access to it was not quite so generous. The room is served by a small passenger lift. With no furniture storage directly within or adjacent to the glass box, the team at Luke Hughes were called in to design flexible meeting room furniture comprising of folding meeting room tables and stackable wooden chairs that would still fit in the lift.

Tuning and adapting a long tried and tested design of our Athena folding tables, we were quickly able to come up with a bespoke design of parson-style foldable meeting room table for the same price as a standard product. The one-off design features an elegantly tapered leg to the folding meeting room tables, compared to the standard rectangular section.

A set of Luke Hughes LH-42 stackable wooden chairs with seats upholstered in finest sustainable Scottish leather by Andrew Muirhead were custom stained to match the folding meeting room tables. Incredibly versatile, the LH-42 stackable wooden chair has quickly become a mainstay of our portfolio. In upholstered form the LH-42 stackable wooden chair will stack to six-high on its custom transport and storage dolly. When a coloured water-based lacquer seat or veneered ply seat are specified the LH-42 stackable wooden chair will stack up to 8 high.

Quick, safe and efficient removal and return of the flexible meeting room furniture is handled by custom Luke Hughes chair dollies and a customised table trolley, each of which are designed to fit within the very tight dimensions of the passenger lift.