ADDING TEXTURE AND COLOUR TO AN EVENT AT THE TURBINE HALL, TATE MODERN

When briefed with this event, the main goal was for it to feel celebratory, a true party to mark the 10th year of the business.
The venue, The Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, was the chosen space and accommodated the 500 dinner guests well. The beauty of the space is that it is huge. 25m high, 23m wide and 155m long. It’s a beast of a room and ensuring that this felt like an inviting party space was a very fun challenge.
When approaching this brief, we first looked at the canvas we were working with. The Turbine Hall has huge black steel pillars running floor to ceiling and horizontally. The Bridge separates the space and provides a great area for a drinks reception. The flooring is a matt grey concrete, and the walls are also a grey tone. The huge ramp that runs for almost half the space is the first area guests see but is sloped. Whilst incredible, we also had many challenges here.
Firstly, the size and shape of the space. It’s simply huge and with a space like this, you cannot ignore that. You’re aiming to capture the grand cathedral-esque impact rather than it feeling overly big. It can feel tempting to invest a large part of the budget in ‘large’ props. What may feel big on the floor though, say 12ft high, will feel so very small in this space. Everything must be big and considered. The space is very structured, with clean lines and huge height. Adding texture and therefore depth was a no1 goal.



Adding curves and levels
An area we did this in the dining space was to include platforms. We decided on two platforms with the large after dinner bar in-between as this gave the eye varying levels which worked well. This was mimicked in the two-tier stage design. These spaces all had curved edges – we were moving away from straight edges here and this helped soften the space hugely. We also considered the tables – whilst long tables can feel like a natural move in this room, it adds additional straight lines, and we therefore opted for a mix of round and oval tables – the mix of shapes adding visual interest and ensuring it never felt like we had a ‘sea’ of tables.
The iconic Turbine Hall ramp - a dramatic entrance
When it came to the ramp, this space is so dramatic – what an entrance. But it’s tricky – it’s sloped and very long and wide – guests can’t really stay here – it’s a walkway. But a missed opportunity to not celebrate this space. We filled the ramp with 140 huge orbs blending from black through to gold as guests walked the length of the ramp. These lead perfectly to the 6m wide gold escort card wall, where guests picked their names ahead of sitting for dinner and created an unexpected and impressive introduction to the event.

The colour palette
The overall look and feel of the dining space is very monochrome – mainly grey and black. With the clients chosen theme of black and gold, ensuring that this didn’t feel too dark, flat or in any way like a corporate dinner was really important. We needed to ensure that with a limited colour palette that we could ensure it felt elevated and that there was a sense of glamour to the space. We added in tonal colours to the existing grey, black and gold – a touch of cream, a dark walnut, deep smoky purples. These added tones didn’t feel too far from the main colours but just added much needed texture to the design and really helped soften the monochrome. We had two different tablecloths and three different colours of chair. However, despite adding more black, the black became instrumental – having this in the tablecloths and the frames of the chairs helped tie the striking pillars around the room to the design – it felt like it grounded the tables. Florals were a mix of cream or deep inky colours, depending on the table they were on. Each table was one colourway but a variety of textures. All the tableware corresponded to the table, and we worked with incredible items such as gold flecked black charger plates which tied in with the theme perfectly. We also added touches of gold where possible – the gold edged wine glasses and the foiling on each menu. The amber spotted water glasses felt like a playful edition and added a pop of fun to the tables – this was after all a party!
Textures and colours
Other areas we added were the large black and gold marble after dinner bar complete with brushed gold top. Above this, three large chandeliers on arched bases, adding further curves and texture to the space. We had a lot of gold within the venue and ensured that we looked at a variety of textures here. We had high shine items such as the dancefloor, the orbs, the gold foiling on the stationery but then also textured gold seen in the dessert stall dressing, the lamé lined photobooth and the cut glass chandeliers. Ensuring we looked as each colour as a palette in its own right and how we could include texture in every possible way really helped add the layers of texture to the design.
Overall, the event had such a sense of drama, the gravitas of the celebration and the fun and celebratory nature felt so apparent. Guests understood the brief and filled the dancefloor until the early hours!
Looking to host an event at the Tate Modern, Turbine Hall. Get in touch HERE
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