McDermott, Will & Emery is a prestigious law firm with locations across the globe. This internationally recognised firm of lawyers moved into its new London offices in AXA’s flagship London Development in Autumn 2022, allowing it to expand the team further as needed.
Harbrine was called in to schedule ironmongery to match this contemporary space, which features earthy tones alongside stunning stainless steel, high gloss surfaces, porcelain floors and glass framework. Entrance pull handles were required for the glass double doors that bring you into the reception and conference areas for the firm. These handles needed to not only be robust and well crafted, but to match the surroundings in which they would be placed. This was alongside the more traditional timber doors throughout the offices also requiring a uniform look. The knowledgeable scheduling team worked with the design team at Savile Row Projects. This particular handle needed crafting to match those on the doors of the New York office of the law firm. Using these handles as a template, meant a cross leather grip on polished stainless-steel guardsman handles needed to be manufactured for the entrance, with accompanying stainless steel hardware throughout the remainder of the doors.
The ironmongery
In order to match the New York handle, the client needed a bespoke seamless woven leather handle. This meant fitting tubed leather to a round bar grip rather than stitched or glued finishing. Harbrine sourced the woven leather from the same manufacturer that had been used for the New York version to create the UK version. The next challenge was creating a bar that perfectly fit underneath, to ensure there was no turning of leather when the handle was used. Harbrine knew that the Instinct Hardware team were perfectly placed to find a solution.
Instinct worked hard to find the perfect solid bar to fit the leather tubing and created bespoke machined, mirror-finished end caps and pillars. These end caps were drilled and tapped to allow the thread to catch the main pull handle bar when pushed on. The caps completely encased and enclosed the leather, meaning this would no longer turn around the bar.
To complement the entrance handles, the additional solid pull and lever handles required for the timber doors were also finished to a mirror polish, and matched the overall classic pillared look. Safety levers were also crafted from the same solid bar, giving extra power to the ironmongery, and classic floor door stops were installed to prevent any damage to walls where the handles may have made impact.
The End Result
The entrance handles provide comfort in the hand thanks to the luxurious leather, whilst the mirror polished ends blend perfectly with the glass and steel doors and the lace wood veneers. These handles exude quality and represent the status of the company. The timber doors also benefitted from a luxury look making use of solid stainless steel, which fed into and perfectly complemented the main entrance doors. All were polished to a beautiful mirror finish, giving a modern, sleek look. The quality of the steel means that these handles will last for the foreseeable future.
