Category: News

The Royal Society of Arts hosted their own hybrid AGM in the Great Room at RSA House.

On Tuesday 6 October, The RSA delivered their first hybrid AGM within the surroundings of the beautiful Great Room at RSA House. The team at Radiance Production took care of all technical requirements, successfully delivering the RSA’s content to hundreds of participants worldwide. The hour-long broadcast included live talks from the RSA’s CEO and Chairman against the rooms stunning mural as the backdrop, amongst pre-recorded videos from guest speakers as well as a live poll and Q&A.

The RSA AGM has been an annual event for over 250 years but has never been taken shape in this form before now. Matthew Taylor, CEO at The RSA said: “Although only a few Fellows could join at RSA House we held a highly successful and very interactive event. There were high levels of Fellow engagement and really positive feedback. Although we all hope to be together again in the Great Room in 2021 we have learned valuable and positive lessons about how to run an effective hybrid event”.

Award-winning RSA House comprises of 11 unique and versatile event spaces, including seven smaller meeting rooms suitable for meetings for 1+, a large conference room with a beautiful historic backdrop, an auditorium and the Vaults. The venue has the capability to accommodate hybrid events in all rooms and is safely open to welcome business events for up to 30, micro weddings for up to 15 and filming bookings. The RSA House team has put together a Covid-19 pre-event guide to help equip and guide their clients through the new processes they have in place.

For more information please contact Laura Pearce, Head of Sales, [email protected], 020 7451 6855.

RIBA hosted Hamblin Imagery for a short film project in August with approximately 150 people including the crew and actors.

We chose RIBA for a number of reasons – firstly it eludes the grand atmosphere we were looking for in our scene and equally it has a magnificent staircase that was perfect for both look and filming capabilities. The staff were also on board with everything we wanted to achieve and were amazing throughout.

Please describe the brief, when did it take place? What was it for? Core goals and objectives
We were shooting a short film that is due to enter film festivals in the upcoming season. The scene itself was set at an awards ceremony, for which our protagonists had just received an award for their latest movie and were met by rounds of applause as they walked down the red carpet. Filming took place on a Saturday in August. The goal was to replicate the likes of Cannes film festival and other such grand awards ceremonies.

Which spaces at the venue did you use and why?
We used the front lobby, the staircase and majority of the first floor. We covered the flooring with red carpet and filled the areas with extras dressed in evening attire. A giant camera crane was positioned in the gallery which pushed through the wide set doors and out over the staircase. We pumped huge lighting through Florence Hall’s window which filled the staircase and surrounding area.

What happened during the shoot? Please give details of the logistics.
The protagonists made their way down the staircase and were met by huge applause by the surrounding extras. We did an array of shots using both cranes and Steadicam which circles the actors. We also flew a huge airlifted light above the actors – out of all the buildings we recced no other had the capability to achieve this.

Was anything bespoke created for the shoot or bought in specifically, e.g. props, AV?
We had a red carpet which was cut specifically to RIBA’s staircase. Also, as previously mentioned the buildings size allowed us to operate both a crane and airlifted light indoors. The scene itself relied on a huge amount of lighting which no other building could accommodate for us.

Was catering required for the crew/actors? If so, give details
Catering was required, however we used our usual company as we have particular deals with them. RIBA was very accommodating allowing them to use their kitchen space. 

Any aspects of the shoot that proved challenging? If so, how were they overcome?
We did initially worry about how we were going to move all our equipment up the flights of stairs, however RIBA allowed us access to their service elevator which simplified the process.

Client testimonial:
“The RIBA staff were hugely accommodating and adaptable to our every need. Finding a space that would allow us to achieve what we set out to do was extremely difficult and not many buildings hold the capacity to allow for such filming. We wouldn’t hesitate to go to RIBA for future projects, no matter the size or complications that we might face.”

In the summer, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace hosted an interview panel for the Leverhulme Trust at the first event the London venue was able to host since reopening after the spring lockdown.

They were looking to appoint a new Director and recognised it was a process best carried out face to face. The Leverhulme Trust is a large, UK grant-making organisation that has been funding research, fellowships, bursaries and more for nearly 100 years.

The Trust had a number of criteria their choice of venue needed to meet and 10-11 Carlton House Terrace was just the right fit. It was important to them that the panel was hosted somewhere familiar; it needed to be in a convenient, central location; the venue had to have large enough spaces to host their group and they needed to know they could rely on the team to run the day smoothly and professionally. Their enquiry came in mid-May and planning promptly got underway.

With lockdown still in full swing throughout the planning process, the team ensured regular communication with the Trust about any news or changes to current regulation. The client appreciated this: “Communication in the run up to the event was good. They gave us no reason to be concerned and all of our queries were responded to positively and promptly.” The 10-11 team also ensured attendees were aware of the procedures they’d need to follow at the venue.

In total, seven people attended the day. This small group was perfect for getting everyone at the venue quickly back in the swing of things and made it easy to make sure everyone was adhering to the new safety measures in place.

The day began with staggered arrival times between 9:00 and 9:30 to remove the risk of guests gathering at the entrance. They were also required to sanitise their hands and confirm their arrival for the Track and Trace system in place. Whilst all staff at the venue are required to wear masks, guests are not – provided they can keep a safe physical distance. A one-way system throughout the building helps ensure this is possible at all times.

The team worked hard in the run-up to the event to make sure these extra processes wouldn’t infringe on the day, and as testament the client shared: “We didn’t feel the COVID processes hindered our day at all. Safety was the prime concern and we were all made to feel safe throughout.” After arriving, each guest was escorted upstairs to the Music Room and served tea and coffee by catering staff, helping to minimise any touch points.

Adjacent to the Music Room, the Council Room was the space of choice for holding the interviews. While the room would usually fit up to 32 delegates in boardroom style for an event like this, the client agreed to have a hollow-square layout for eight in order to ensure a safe distance of 2m between attendees. Bottled mineral water was included on the table and an extra serving of tea and coffee was prepared for guests on request.

The in-house caterer at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, Searcys, developed a specially-designed touch-free menu for events, and re-trained their staff to serve food in new, safer way. Individual bento boxes were prepared for each guest which contained re-imagined classic sandwiches, salad, sides and a dessert. The boxes were well-received by attendees and service was carried out safely and successfully.

Get in touch with the 10-11 team on 020 7969 5224 or at [email protected].

Church House Westminster has hosted a two-day face-to-face wine tasting event in line with last month’s regulations.

In October, the Grade II listed building was the venue for a two-day in-person trade wine tasting organised by Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB). The London tasting’s theme was 2018 vintage.

The client was unable to host their event at another venue and on short notice Church House Westminster was recommended to UGCB having witnessed the venue’s COVID-secure measures during a virtual site visit.

Pro-active planning

Pre-event communication regarding the Westminster venue’s safety measures along with an informative video and links to a dedicated website of the venue were distributed to attendees to explain COVID-secure measures that the venue has implemented. This ensured that visitor’s expectations matched the venue’s measures for safe events.

On-trade visitors registered for the tasting prior to the event and for each session an allocated arrival time slot was awarded for entry.

Staggered arrival and departure times allowed the minimum number of delegates in front and inside the venue. At the entrance at North Door temperature checks was in operation and so was checking that everyone was wearing a mask (unless exempt). It is also at the entrance where delegates were able to check in using the NHS Test and Trace QR code allowing contactless entry.

The five largest rooms of the venue were set up in a classroom style with a maximum of 30 people in each room (including staff). Many would think of a wine tasting in the traditional sense of walking around a room from producer to producer. Not for this tasting. Every visitor was guided to an individual table for the session and wines were served by a member of staff, wearing PPE. Tasting tables observed a 2-m physical distance in front, and behind and beside each desk. On every desk was a small spittoon, which was then emptied into larger containers filled with sawdust and these containers were emptied and sanitised after each session. In another first, a long table in the centre of each room accommodated all the wine bottles.

The five rooms of the venue’s 19 versatile event spaces were in use on rotation during the event, as 340 attendees were scheduled to attend the wine tasting over the two days.

Following planning of the layout in advance, one-way systems were clearly indicated by signage. Additional safety measures were in place as standard, such as enhanced cleaning.

On the day of the event

Union Des Grands Crus de Bordeaux provided staff, wearing PPE, to facilitate the wine tasting in each room.

Members of staff from Church House Westminster were on hand to assist with wayfinding. To safely facilitate breaks, the one-way system was also adhered to get to and from the restrooms. The facilities were hygienically cleaned at regular intervals. As visitors completed their tasting, they orderly followed the exit route towards the venue’s South Door.

Post-event follow-up

Visitors gave the venue five stars on Google My Business following their Covid-secure venue experience.

Sue Glasgow remarked, “Thank you and your wonderful team for helping me pull off our Bordeaux wine tasting.  It’s been such a difficult time planning any live event with restrictions changing daily but your willingness to support me and make this work in a challenging environment was commendable and very much appreciated.  Everyone was loving the new seated format, despite restrictions”.

For more information contact the team on 020 7390 1590.