Specifying heavy objects for hotels, lobbies and offices

01Safety in an uncontrolled setting

A private room is a controlled environment; a lobby is not. Anyone can arrive at any speed. That raises the priority of three things: no sharp edges anywhere within reach, glass that fails safely, and stability under a sideways push rather than only under vertical load. Every contact edge in the collection is hand-smoothed for exactly this reason, tops are tempered and laminated on the larger spans, and objects are weighted so their centre of mass sits low.

02Cleaning regimes are the real wear

Domestic cleaning is gentle and occasional. Contract cleaning is daily and uses whatever is on the trolley. Sealed patina tolerates a damp cloth indefinitely, but repeated exposure to strong solvents or ammonia-based glass cleaner will eventually dull the sealant. The fix is procedural rather than technical: supply the housekeeping team with a one-page care card, and specify the glass cleaner rather than leaving it to chance. We provide the card with every object.

In a lobby, the object is not used once a day. It is used two hundred times.

03Insurance, valuation and the numbered plate

Contract clients need an asset value and an identifiable item. Each object carries an engraved plate with its signature, and the certificate records the source part, the process and the date. That combination is usually enough for a schedule of contents and for a claim. For fit-outs we can supply a consolidated document covering several objects, which saves the facilities team assembling it later from delivery notes.

04Replaceability and the long view

Contract environments outlive their furniture. The relevant question is what happens after damage. Glass is a replaceable component: specification, thickness and edge treatment are recorded, so a new top can be ordered without touching the steel. Fixings are stainless and serviceable. The steel itself is the part that does not get replaced — and because it was industrial to begin with, it tolerates a knock that would end a lacquered surface.

05What we need from a specifier

For a contract enquiry, send the setting and traffic level, the floor construction and finish, the cleaning regime, any client safety standard that applies, and the delivery window relative to handover. Heavy objects want to arrive after wet trades and before final protection is lifted, and that slot is easy to miss. Tell us the programme dates with the enquiry and we will fit the lead time around them rather than the other way round.