DRAWING BOARD
Art’otel
Squire & Partners has revealed its inspiration for
within the overall composition. Double-height
Art’otel London Hoxton, slated to open in early
floorplates are then rotated in order to give
LONDON HOXTON
2024. Occupying a prominent site in the South
the illusion of a series of moving components.
Shoreditch Conservation Area, the hotel will
Twisting metal fins in a variety of sizes rise
comprise 340 guestrooms, co-working spaces,
vertically, positioned in syncopated rhythm
an art gallery and cinema. Additional facilities
around the tower, giving a depth of articulation
include a spa, gym and pool, as well as several
to the exterior façade.
restaurants, bars and lounges.
034
two large-scale original Banksy artworks –
to the cultural identity of the nearby Silicon
which were already part of the site – are being
Roundabout – a hub for many technology
conserved and incorporated into the design.
companies. As a result, its architectural form
“The project was conceived in 2008, and
and cladding take cues from the mechanical
after several design iterations, I am excited
components of early analogue computers, with
to see our ideas developing into an important
a cylindrical shape that evolved into a fractured
part of Shoreditch’s urban fabric,” says Murray
cogwheel throughout the planning process,
Levinson, Partner at Squire & Partners. “The
rising and adapting in response to its context
design concept makes a subtle nod to the
and interior functions.
development of the computer – without which
Each section of the cogwheel is extruded over
Silicon Roundabout would not have its name –
two floors, separated by a horizontal aluminium
providing another example of how our work is
shelf that allows every level to read individually
influenced by the distinct context of a location.”
© Squire & Partners
EXPRESS CHECK-OUT Owner: PPHE Hotel Group Developer: AKT II Operator: PPHE Hotel Group, Radisson Hotel Group Architecture: Squire & Partners www.artotel.com
Framing the tower at first-floor height,
Spanning 26 storeys, the building responds