Our clients Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd are design and construction experts. Their founder, the late Sir Ove Arup, insisted on high company values: “We must strive for quality in what we do, and never be satisfied with the second-rate.” They demand the best. They also place a high value on their staff and expect excellence for their Christmas parties. The company hired The Vox, a purpose-built venue on the NEC site and set within the Resorts World Birmingham complex. And they turned to Area 51 for the décor to match their expectations.Area 51 Design Ltd re-imagined traditional Christmas themes on a grand scale. We constructed two giant fir trees as the stage set, with 3m trunks supporting huge 6m canopies.
The idea was to feel as though you were under giant Christmas trees, like the toy characters in The Nutcracker Suite ballet. We even provided a toy soldier and a cuddly ‘monkey’ as interactive meet-and-greet characters. The room was surrounded by 500 oversized presents, each wrapped and tied with ribbons, while giant gift boxes also formed an archway entrance. Area 51 made all the festive chair covers and crafted each table mini-tree centre-piece by hand.
The following year they called for a casino theme, so we made an arch in the shape of a huge roulette wheel for the main stage and hung giant playing cards around the room. Roulette red and black were the colours we chose for the chair covers, and the table centre-pieces were designed as tumbling dice. Area 51 also provided guests with real casino tables overseen by skilled croupiers. The gambling theme paid off and our clients considered our designs to be outright winners.
GALLERY
