Kate Abdo, Sky Sports presenter, was the hostess for arguably one of the most intriguing nights in the construction industry calendar – the Omnis launch event.
Set in the prestigious Serpentine Sackler Gallery and Magazine Restaurant, this architecturally inspired evening saw guests lavished with exquisite canapés and fine wines, amidst spectacular artwork and unique sculptures.
Over 150 industry guests along with Omnis representatives and artists enjoyed a drinks reception in the gallery, before moving into the restaurant. In conjunction with Degreeart.com, Omnis had invited nine sculptors to take part in the ‘Architecturally Inspired Sculpture Competition’. Entrants were provided with Omnis roofing, cladding and glazing products, which they combined with their own preferred materials to create stunning, integrated sculptures.
John Cowley, CEO of Xerxes Equity, the parent company of Omnis, then introduced Kate to the stage. “For us, Kate was an obvious choice to host the evening, as she epitomises core values that we feel Omnis represents: next generation, intelligent, approachable, ambitious and beautiful.”
Kate led the crowd through the rest of the evening by first announcing the winners of the sculpture competition. Mark Beattie took top prize of £1000, with Ian Tricker the runner-up with £500. All the sculptures are now on sale at degreeart.com, with 20% of the sale price being donated to Shelter.
Rachel Pierce from Shelter commented: “We are very excited to be working in partnership with Omnis once again for 2015. The launch was a fantastic evening and we are incredibly grateful to Omnis for arranging some of the proceeds from the sculptures to be donated to Shelter.”
Kate then unveiled the Omnis launch film, which finally revealed who and what Omnis is all about. As the integration of five established UK manufacturing companies and one US facility; SpeedDeck, Downer, CEP Claddings, CEP Architectural Façades, CEP Panels and Rigidal, Omnis is one of the largest UK manufacturers of exterior products and systems.
Afterwards, she interviewed John Fahy, the newly appointed Managing Director, who said: “All of the brands have outstanding heritages, which we wanted to celebrate amongst our peers while sharing our vision for the future of Omnis.”
Not only did guests leave with a special Omnis gift box, but they also took home a limited edition signed print of the gallery by the talented expressionist artist Stephen B Whatley – specially commissioned for the launch.
Overall, guests were highly impressed by the whole event. Teodosi Nikolov, Architect, commented: “We were expecting your normal agenda of product show and tell, but this was something else: a truly enjoyable and creative evening.”
Stephen Wilson, Senior Associate Architect at ANZIA, added: “I thought the event had the ‘glitz and glamour’ appropriately matched to the sleek products provided.”
