Project story · London, United Kingdom
A new front that listens to its street
In London, Hotel H fills a gap between historic stone buildings with a calm new front that follows their lines without copying them.
By byJOOM · Hotel H · Hospitality and resorts
A gap in a historic street
The street is already composed: stone buildings of different ages with cornice lines and a rhythm of windows. Hotel H is a new hotel front within it, and the design begins by accepting that the street is the author and the new building a guest. It is for guests and passers-by on a city street, and it has to be good to both.
Calm, stone-clad, continuous
The new front is calm and stone-clad. It follows the cornice lines and window rhythm of its neighbours without copying them. The tall openings, the vertical emphasis and the pale stone all belong to the street, but nothing is imitation. It is continuity rather than costume: a building from this time that has learned the manners of its place.
A warm entrance you can see into
At street level a covered entrance and warm glazing let you see the lobby from the pavement. In the evening pictures the lit glass at the base and the soft interior lighting make the entrance read as an invitation. For passers-by, the building offers a glimpse of the life inside before they decide to enter.
A garden behind the front
Behind the street front there is a court. A planted roof and a courtyard garden soften the city. The garden pictures show lawn, low walls and a terrace, and the planted roof sits as a green crown above the parapets. In a dense part of the city, the building gives some of its footprint back as green.
It listens to its street, which is what lets a new building belong for a long time.
Listening, not shouting
A good new building in an old street has two options: to contrast or to continue. Hotel H chooses to continue, and the argument in its favour is that it listens to its street. That, in the end, is what lets a new building belong for a long time.
Belonging for a long time
Stone, proportion and a considered rhythm of openings do not date quickly. By following the lines of its neighbours, Hotel H borrows their longevity rather than competing with it.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.