Woods Bagot appointed as architect for Firmdale’s Ham Yard project
Woods Bagot’s hotel design team, headed by Principals Rob Steul and Nathan Freebury, will work on the 0.75 acre site for the boutique hotel group.
The architects are working with Firmdale Hotels and Westminster Council on a mixed-use planning application for Ham Yard which will include residential apartments, affordable housing, and a 90 room luxury hotel. The development team are aiming for the hotel to be open in time for the 2012 Olympics.
Craig Markham of Firmdale said: “Firmdale Hotels is excited to be working with Westminster, the local residents and architects Woods Bagot on this extraordinary project which will take our current portfolio of hotels into a whole new realm.”
Rob Steul, Principal at Woods Bagot, said: “Ham Yard is an abandoned and long neglected part of Soho. We are working toward a design which not only repairs the urban fabric of the site, but also fully engages the wider neighbourhood. At the heart of Woods Bagot’s proposal is a new public square which is linked to the surrounding streets by restoring traditional pedestrian routes which had been lost over time, thereby connecting Golden Square through to Denman Street and Piccadilly Circus.
“It is vital to us, and the owners, to contribute to the unique personality of Soho and respond with an architecture which is complementary to the scale, massing and materials of the area.”
Woods Bagot’s team already has significant experience of working on hotel design in the capital including the recent planning approval to convert the Grade II* listed 10 Trinity Square at Tower Hill, as well as others in Westminster including the Trafalgar Hilton and Courthouse Doubletree on Great Marlborough Street.
