Known as the UK home of global interior design, Heal’s has unveiled a brand-new and exclusively designed staircase by Matthew Hilton and his studio, completing the major transformation of its iconic flagship store.
Unveiled to the general public on Friday 19 February 2024, British design talent, Matthew Hilton joined Heal’s CEO, Hamish Mansbridge at an official ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the milestone opening.
Anchoring Heal’s presence on Tottenham Court Road for the last two centuries, the installation completes a major remodelling of the brand’s flagship store, which saw Heal’s – for the first time in 40 years – extend back into its 1962 Fitzroy Robinson extension. In turn, the street-level presence doubled from 50m to 100m, with the ground floor and lower-ground floor showroom spaces reconnecting to span more than 49,000ft2.
As one of the central focusses to the design of the new store, the addition of Hilton’s staircase had to sit sensitively alongside original architectural features of the Grade II listed building including two other protected staircase designs from the early 1900’s.
Completing Heal’s ‘trio of staircases’ within the flagship, Hilton’s minimalistic steel and timber-framed addition documents a more modern and industrial feel for the store. It joins Cecil Brewer’s famous spiralling design at the rear of the building, which was installed in 1916 and has since become one of London’s ‘most photographed staircases’, in addition to Sir Edward Maufe’s Lenscrete creation, which formed part of the store’s southern extension between 1936 – 1938.
Sitting centrally in the extended ground-floor showroom and in prime-view of the store’s extended window façade, the Matthew Hilton staircase now seamlessly connects to the lower-ground level, allowing for an uninterrupted flow of customers across the two floors.
Renowned for his functional and architectural furniture designs, the staircase was a first for Hilton and his studio team – David Britton and Harry Hasson – who, following years of collaboration with Heal’s, were approached by CEO Hamish Mansbridge in 2022 to create something special for the new extension.
Discussing his design, Matthew explained: “We wanted to keep the structure as light as possible, so we created a cantilevered staircase coming off two central structural pillars with louvres that you can see through.
“There’s a softness to it, with hidden elements that can only been seen when using it. It’s a quiet and restrained design with no superfluous details – everything has a purpose.”
Heal’s CEO, Hamish Mansbridge, added: “The staircases at our flagship are engrained into the evolution of the store over the last 200 years and have become beacons in their own right as pillars of design and architecture, helping to shape our history.
“The addition of this third staircase was such a core design feature for the store extension that it only seemed right to entrust the job to Matthew, who is a testament to modern British design and whose vision completely aligned with the experience of what we were hoping to achieve for our customers.
“We are proud of our role as London’s original furniture retailer, and in returning to Fitzroy Robinson’s extension and investing in our physical store, we’re not only illustrating our commitment to bricks and mortar retail, but also to Tottenham Court Road, re-establishing it as London’s furniture street.”
Customers can see the new staircase as part of Heal’s recent store extension at 196 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 7LQ.
