ReardonSmith’s Soho hotel gets go-ahead
ReardonSmith has been granted planning consent by Westminster City Council to convert three buildings into a new hotel on one of Soho’s most prominent street corners.
Situated at the crossroads between Broadwick Street and Berwick Street, the scheme will allow for the complete demolition of two 1980s office buildings, and the retention of a 1880s property on the intersection of the two streets.
Forming part of the Soho Conservation Area, the project seeks to integrate the new hotel into the distinctive cosmopolitan fabric of Soho, complementing and enriching the mix of uses found in this area of London.
The hotel will extend over eight floors above ground and three basement levels, with 69 guestrooms occupying floors one to six, and two top storeys of the building set back to reduce the massing and provide a destination bar and restaurant. The dislodged nature of the existing corner building will also be rectified through design, detailing and materiality.
ReardonSmith’s design references both the Art Deco and the warehouse building styles of the area, creating a contrast to the existing London stock yellow brick banding of the retained corner building. The new façades on Broadwick and Berwick Street will comprise dark coloured brick, with additional colour palettes including bronze, gold and silver, selected to provide a contrast and emphasize the quality of the development.
The main entrance of the hotel, located on Broadwick Street, will feature Art Deco-inspired glazed doors embellished with bronze and glazed detailing. Continuing the theme, an etched glazed façade is planned to enclose the upper two storeys of the hotel, creating a jewel box-like feel to the destination bar and restaurant.
“We are delighted to have gained planning consent for a building which will add a great deal to the architectural grain of Soho while providing a hotel and restaurant with all the potential to become highly successful operations,” comments Patrick Reardon, Executive Chairman, ReardonSmith Architects.
“The building is unashamedly decorative in its treatment, meeting the client’s brief and enlivening the streetscape in a way that is appropriate in this part of London.”
