The Londoner

LONDON

A decade in the making, Edwardian Hotels finally opens its urban resort on Leicester Square, bringing together a curated collection of intimate spaces.

Words: Catherine Martin, Ben Thomas Photography: © Andrew Beasley, Henry Bourne There’s been plenty of debate over the years as to what qualifies as a boutique hotel, but the one fundamental on which most agree, is that it is small in size. So when Edwardian Hotels London labelled its new flagship – with 350 guestrooms, six restaurants and bars, and an 850-capacity ballroom – as boutique, industry commentators could be forgiven for being somewhat perplexed. After all, even Wikipedia says that such properties typically have between 10 and 100 rooms.

In a bid to define this new class, the group came up with the concept of ‘super boutique’, describing The Londoner as ‘boutique in feel yet staggering in scale’ with a collection of spaces that are ‘individual, intimate, eclectic and curated’.

For Krishma Singh Dear, Head of Design at Edwardian Hotels London, the parallels are through shared values rather than key count. “A boutique hotel has intimate spaces and is designed with attention to detail and touches of the locale,” she explains. “It’s a term that we’ve coined because we truly believe this is what we’re offering.”

The sentiment is shared by Hotel Director Charles Oak, who adds: “It’s really about the atmosphere, the ambience and the service of a boutique property. The interiors don’t feel as vast or cavernous as the building may give the impression of; every space has been curated – we just have a lot more of them than you will find in a traditional boutique hotel.”

Indeed, the building is a considerable size. Standing on the corner of Leicester Square – an enviable spot that Edwardian Hotels acquired in 2011 – the newbuild spans an entire city block and is as tall as it is deep. Its design, build and construction is the culmination of a decade of work involving a number of specialists. Woods Bagot led on the architecture, Yabu Pulshelberg took on the interiors and EE Smith were awarded the fit-out – their largest contract to-date – while Arup provided expertise across mechanical, electrical and façade engineering. The entire process was overseen by Edwardian

© Henry Bourne © Henry Bourne

© Andrew Beasley

The Residence – for overnight guests only – incorporates the timber-panelled Y Bar (top left) and intimate Whisky Room (bottom)

Hotels London’s in-house team, including founder Jasminder Singh and Creative Director Rob Steul.

Having been appointed soon after the site was acquired, Woods Bagot began drawing up architectural plans almost a decade ago, and though the scheme has gone through several iterations, the brief has remained the same; to create a new landmark for Leicester Square. The high-profile location brought a wealth of design inspiration but it also meant that there were certain requirements that came as part of Westminster Council’s approval. One stipulation was for a piece of public art, but rather than an add-on, the team opted to integrate it into the façade of the building, resulting in a regal blue colouration of ceramic tiles by local artist Ian Monroe. Punctuating a Portland stone base, the 15,000 glazed terracotta tiles scale the height of the building and nod to the material history of the area, which was once revered for its tilemaking. Each individual tile took six weeks to make, with the three-dimensional geometric shapes coming together to form a mosaic-like installation. The result is not only an artistic triumph, but a technological one too, involving hand-drawn sketches and paper-cut models as well as BIM framework and an advanced fastening system – a solution developed in conjunction with project engineers Arup.

Another of the conditions was for the building to be in harmony with its surroundings. With that in mind, the 16-storey structure has been integrated into the urban fabric of Leicester Square in both scale and design. Thanks to the curvature of the façade, the architecture complements the adjoining Odeon cinema complex – which has been reinstated with its own separate entrance and houses two private screening rooms powered by Odeon-Luxe technology – while a mansard zinc roof houses an izakaya lounge with views across the capital.

Minimising the impact on the locale – along with height restrictions imposed by the council – also led Woods Bagot to dig down, creating what is now the UK’s deepest hotel and one of the world’s deepest habitable basements. With eight floors above ground and eight below, some amenities are situated 30 metres below street level, which came with its own challenges, not least the shoring system and complex engineering methods developed together with Arup. “In London, space is a premium,” explains Nik Karalis, CEO of Woods Bagot. “With limited constraints and height controls – and to offer 350 guestrooms, front-of-house experiences and back-of-house support – the only option was to excavate. With this decision came a series of innovations to ensure both light and air was circulated downwards, and to encourage guests to circulate in both directions.”

The excavation also served to lessen the building’s footprint – contributing to its BREEAM Excellent rating – and resulted in some creative architectural solutions. Woods Bagot developed what they call a ‘vertical resort’, in which the hotel’s spaces wrap around an internal spine. The masterplan sees interconnecting volumes, a central void and grand stairwells combine for a journey of discovery, allowing each amenity to act independently or together as a whole. “Every space emanating from the central void volume contains activated guest experiences,” Karalis enthuses. “Collectively, they take a London high street and turn it into a vertical interconnected community.”

This interconnected community features a wide range of venues, all designed by Yabu Pushelberg to the brief of bringing the surrounding district in. While it may seem at odds for a US-based studio to design a London-centric hotel, Edwardian were keen to bring a fresh perspective to the city. And, like so many hospitality projects, the selection was the result of personal connections.

“Krishma used to work for us, she was an intern at our New York office,” explains Founding Partner George Yabu, referring to Edwardian Hotels London’s Head of Design, who is also the daughter of the group’s founder. “Through her, we met the Singh family and felt there was synergy between us. The original plan was to take on some small renovation projects, but then The Londoner came along and we knew it was a big opportunity. It’s rare we get the chance to work with such a passionate, family-run business.”

Speaking to Sleeper, Founding Partner Glenn Pushelberg commends the confidence of the client in gifting the entire interior design scheme to them, believing that this approach makes for a more cohesive scheme. “If you’re generous with your ideas, you can actually create different expressions of a theme that are still connected,” he notes. “That way, interiors

© Andrew Beasley

Scenographic murals depicting flora and fauna descend from the ceiling as dusk falls in The Drawing Room, part of The Residence

don’t become disjointed. There’s one thought process, one quality and one materiality. Spaces can have a different identity yet work in flow.”

Extending to public spaces and guestrooms, the overarching theme honours the hotel’s West End location. “The Londoner is designed to play into the roots of Leicester Square as London’s historic theatre district,” says Yabu, “We began by developing an understanding of the area, then took ideas from set design and the exuberance of theatre and elevated them. We created layers of programming up into the sky and deep into the earth to emphasise this extroverted, alluring, playful voice.”

Yabu Pushelberg’s greatest challenge was to engage visitors and create a guest experience on all floors, particularly those below ground, as well as adhering to the boutique sensibility. Their solution was to create spaces within spaces, with subtle touches of British humour for those who look close enough.

In ode to the art of performance, the studio crafted archetypes of a theatre production’s cast and crew to personify spaces within the hotel. Setting the mood, ‘the cinematographer’ – or lobby – is responsible for establishing the look and feel of the film, while ‘the director’ – or lobby bar – is the gatekeeper to the guest experience, guiding cast and crew in fulfilling the overall vision for the dramatic and artistic elements. Other touches of theatre include marquee lighting – the type you might see around a dressing-room mirror – floor-toceiling drapes, which are actually undulating timber screens clad in velvet, and murals that look more like set designs. There’s also a stage, where live music performances add to the ambiance.

Throughout the hotel there are props aplenty, coming in the form of artworks and sculpture dressing shelves and lining walls, perhaps most notably in The Gallery, housing a series of meeting rooms named after London’s art galleries. In the lobby, a floating moon by Andrew Rae keeps watch over those checking in, and in The Whisky Room, seductive sculptures

© Henry Bourne

At rooftop izakaya lounge, 8 at The Londoner, a network of intricate roping is suspended overhead the terrace, accompanied by a firepit and plantlife

of hands and eyes – the latter with shimmering pearl crystal eyebrows – have been created by Moss & Lam. The art collection meanwhile has been curated in collaboration with James Robertson Art Consultants and incorporates a mixture of mediums and genres, spanning classic and contemporary with pieces from both emerging and established artists. All reflect the multifaceted and diverse character of London as a city and are expertly lit by specialists at TM Lighting.

Other lighting features include Lasvit’s Cipher pendants, which are suspended over the bar and grand staircase and form part of Yabu Pushelberg’s growing portfolio of product designs. The duo have been savvy in specifying their own collections to furnish the hotel, with pieces from B&B Italia, Molteni&C and Henge alongside the Blink and Taylor ranges they designed for Stellar Works.

In line with the urban resort concept, The Londoner has a wide range of facilities. The Retreat houses a gym, treatment centre, juice bar and swimming pool, with private cabanas and expansive daybeds beneath skylights that cleverly imitate natural light. There’s extensive events spaces, comprising meeting rooms, breakout spaces and a 6,000ft2 pillarless ballroom – physically and technologically designed to adapt to any set-up – kitted out with stylish stackable chairs from Excalibur Furniture.

And there’s plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from, for the overnight guest at least. In a fresh approach, Edwardian Hotels has opted to set aside a number of its spaces for residents only, the idea being to create a members’ club feel and charge higher room rates for the privilege. The Residence, as it’s known, is a collection of intimate spaces for relaxing and working, each with its own identity: The Y Bar is wrapped in timber panelling carved with symbols and characters, artfully backlit in red veneer; The Drawing Room features scenographic murals depicting flora and fauna that descend from the ceiling depending on the time of day; and The Whisky Room is a sensuous space dressed in seductive velvet to accompany a display of the world’s finest spirits.

Venues open to public access include Joshua’s Tavern, named after artist Joshua Reynolds, who lived on the square. Targeting the local after-work crowd, the watering hole takes on a relaxed ambiance thanks

© Andrew Beasley

to industrial-style detailing such as leather saddle stools and shiny copper ale canisters overhead. On the ground floor, Whitcomb’s – an all-day dining restaurant serving Mediterranean fare – has a fashion focus in homage to the millineries on Whitcomb Street; upholstery displays a loose check as a nod to Burberry, while artworks are by fashion illustrator Frida Wannerberger. Rounding out the F&B offer is 8 at The Londoner, a rooftop izakaya lounge that appears to hover over the building’s central void. Yabu Pushelberg personify the space as ‘The Performer’, and the design scheme undoubtedly plays up to its moniker. The bar and dining area feature a moody palette with dark timber slats lining the walls and ceiling, while the terrace has a lighter, airy feel thanks to the doubleheight volume and fully retractable roof. A network of intricate roping, reminiscent of the Japanese art of shibari, is suspended overhead, and is accompanied by a firepit and plantlife.

The energy of the rooftop emanates down through the guestroom corridors, coloured floor-to-ceiling in either a vibrant teal or bold mustard. Worth a mention are the colossal glass doorknobs on all 350 guestroom doors, each handblown and embellished with gold leaf. Once inside, the rooms are defined by a calming palette, with natural hues accompanying stained oak panelling. They’re elegant and residential in style, but look hard enough and there are subtle nods to British humour.

Since Sleeper’s visit, a few nights prior to the official opening to road test both sleeping quarters and cuisine, the hotel has attracted plenty of local attention from those eager to see what the fuss is about, after all, expectations were high; the ambitious project was accepted into Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ prestigious Legend Collection before construction had even topped out. Regardless of whether or not you can get on board with the terminology of it being a super boutique hotel, The Londoner is true to its word, offering intimate spaces designed with attention to detail and touches of the locale. EXPRESS CHECK-OUT Owner / Operator: Edwardian Hotels London Architecture: Woods Bagot Interior Design: Yabu Pushelberg Art Consultant: James Robertson Art Consultants Lighting Design: Inverse Lighting Graphic Design: AvroKO Fit-out: EE Smith Main Contractor: Blue Sky Building Engineering: Arup www.thelondoner.com