Hospitality Design - October 2009 - 47

london city spotlight By Tara Mastrelli and Stirling Johnstone dropping pounds Design icons, living walls, and heavy investments are reinventing London Boundary “Boundary is my first new private venture since the opening of Bibendum in 1987,” says Sir Terence Conran of his latest luxury boutique hotel, which opened earlier this year in a converted warehouse in Shoreditch. Two new f loors and a rooftop garden were added creating a design hotel that offers three restaurants and bars, 17 guestrooms, a bakery, and a small food store. Care has been taken to retain the most charming of the buildings original features—distinctive brickwork, large sash windows, and industrial design light-wells. On the first and second floors there are 12 spacious guestrooms, the smallest of which is 333 square feet, while the third f loor and fourth floors house four duplex suites designed by Sir Terence, Lady Victoria, Priscilla Carlucciom, and Polly Dickens, creative director of the Conran Shop, and one doublewidth suite designed by Sir David Tang. Each of the rooms has a different design inspired by legendary designers or design movements that Sir Terence admires. “One of the most interesting elements has been developing the individual concepts for each of the seventeen bedrooms,” he says. “From Le Corbusier and Andrée Putman to the humor of Heath Robinson, all of the bedrooms are different.” Green technology also played a large role in the project. Two 393-feet boreholes were drilled below the floor in the restaurant: one collects water and energy from the London aquifer and the other returns the same untainted resource to operate the air-conditioning, refrigeration, ice-machines, and various other equipment. www.designhotels.com/boundary International. A key part of the design was the reinstatement of Palm Court as the heart of the hotel: hand-cast iron gates now lead to the home of the original afternoon tea, which sparkles with cut mirrors and crystal. Five new guestroom schemes were introduced, each ref lecting a 19th-century English residence: touches such as paisley throws and decorative accessories from the Far East and Europe are found throughout. The palette is based on precious stones such as jade, topaz, amethyst, and ruby, which have been mixed with gray, ochre, and soft white hues to create an oasis of calm. “The interiors at the Langham, London re-capture the original personality and status of what was the first grand hotel in Europe,” says Jane Wickings, associate, Richmond International. David Collins Studio created the elegant Landau restaurant and its neighboring cocktail bar, Artesian. With a further investment of $3.2 million planned this year, the hotel will also add a luxury spa to complement its existing fitness center and 52-foot-long swimming pool, which will also be refurbished. www.langham.co.uk Clockwise from top left: A junior suite at Langham, London; the restaurant at Boundary; Napket Piccadilly. Napket This summer Napket, a fashion-inspired take on the urban café, launched its largest flagship boutique on Piccadilly, designed by cult designer, Peter Van Hooreweghe. Exclusive to Napket Piccadilly is the table service. Seating up to 70 guests, the space showcases a collision of vintage-style and industrial-chic, where elaborate chandeliers and baroque seating are set against exposed Langham London The Langham London recently emerged from an extensive $128 million, five-year restoration and refurbishment, courtesy of Richmond www.hdmag.com October 2009

http://www.langham.co.uk http://www.designhotels.com/boundary http://www.hdmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - October 2009