Inside White City House the latest Soho House Group club

Interior view of the 9th floor restaurant at White City House. There is grey flooring, wood covered walls, colourful wall art with lights above, a row of blue chairs, round brown tables with lamps and tableware and deep red leather chairs

The 9th floor restaurant of White City house features wood-veneer panelled walls and brass and leather dining chairs. ‘The Dear Tony Hart’ wall is a homage to the late TV presenter and features newly commissioned artworks drawn by significant contemporary artists who’s tapped into ‘their inner child’ to produce the work

(Image credit: press)

By Bethan Ryder

last updated 9 October 2022

Ever since Nick Jones carved his very first Soho House members’ club out of an atmospheric warren of Georgian rooms in Soho in 1995, he’s demonstrated an uncanny knack for sniffing out real estate diamonds in the rough. Pick a club, any Soho House club, around the world – of which there are now 19 – and there isn’t a dud among them. Whether it’s a former Midland Bank building in London’s City that now houses The Ned emporium, a sprawling warehouse in New York’s Meatpacking District, or a 19th-century palazzo in Istanbul. White City House in west London is another such gem.

Although Jones may now only own ten per cent of Soho House Group he is still very much involved and hitching his latest wagon to the mixed-use redevelopment of London’s iconic BBC Television Centre to create White City House proves he’s still very much on the money. And what a symbolic coup for a brand that’s built its reputation on being the media world’s favourite haunt. The former Television Centre officially opened in 1960; rumour has it that architect Graham Dawbarn found inspiration when doodling on the back of an envelope in a pub, the masterplan being inspired by a question mark-shaped block with studios linked by covered walkways.

The members’ club occupies the 8th, 9th and 10th (top) floors of the new-build adjoining the iconic Grade II-listed doughnut-shaped Helios ring, which houses 45 White City House hotel guestrooms (spanning across two floors), alongside private residential apartments. Creating the club in a brand new property posed a challenge, as Soho House design director Linda Boronkay explains. ‘It was very different as usually we have the heritage aspect of a building, but this was a fairly blank canvas. So we had to work hard to create atmosphere in the space, ensuring that every floor feels different, while retaining the Soho House ethos,’ she says. Most of the club areas are on the top two floors, with the 8th floor a flexible events space comprising an area with stage and a bar that can be screened off.

Such a landmark site is deeply embedded within the national consciousness, not just as the BBC headquarters but as home to beloved broadcasting institutions ranging from Top of the Pops to Blue Peter, from Take Hart to Doctor Who. It’s exactly this pop culture aspect of the property’s heritage that the Soho House team has referenced in the interiors and artworks of the club, combined with a definitive nod to midcentury design.

Just under four years in the making, Boronkay says that period film and television provided the initial inspiration. ‘We watched movies like James Bond from the 1950s and 1960s and also Mad Men, but we didn’t want to create a movie set.’ New bespoke furniture and lighting and patterned fabrics (created for the project by the resurrected Tibor brand, a globally recognised modernist textiles company which originally contributed fabrics to the BBC during the Sixties) combined with vintage pieces, prevent the interiors from being too much of a parody.

The lavish use of wood, such as in the bas relief panelling in the lifts featuring a circular motif inspired by the Doctor Who TARDIS, and head of collections Kate Bryan’s well-curated contemporary artworks (a significant piece being Archie Proudfoot’s ode to Test Card F), plus design details such as the illuminated dots on the Allis bar facade that reference the ‘atomic dots’ on Television Centre’s brick facade, imbue White City House with warmth, British whimsy and character. As Boronkay says of the interiors: ‘The references aren’t immediately obvious but they feel familiar. Guests should be able to connect the dots in the end.’

Soho House Group’s global expansion continues apace with the opening of DUMBO House next in New York and an Amsterdam outpost following this summer, with a redevelopment of the 1937 Bungehuis university building that dates back to 1937. ‘It’s a real sleeping beauty, a very functional building but with a touch of Dutch art deco’ says Boronkay of the project. Little Beach House in Barcelona will also open later this summer.

Interior view of the lounge at White City House featuring grey flooring, wood covered and dark beige walls, colourful wall art, a multi-sphere pendant light, round tables and seating in different colours — The various spaces of the main club on the 9th floor – Games Room, bar, restaurant and lounge – run in a continuous interconnected loop around the service core

Alternative view of the lounge at White City House featuring grey flooring, wood covered walls, colourful wall art, curved pendant lights, wall lights and multiple lamps, round tables and seating in different colours. The bar area and restaurant can be seen in the distance — The lounge area on the 9th floor White City House looking through to the restaurant. This space benefits from far-reaching views across west London

View of the glass covered terrace at White City House featuring blue and black seating with cushions, rugs, floor lamps, trees and green plants in a large brown rectangle planter — The expansive 9th floor terrace, which overlooks Westfield and London beyond, is designed to feel like an extension of the club with large sofas, rugs and floor lamps

Interior view of the main bar at White City House featuring a bar with a maroon coloured front and dark brown top, multicoloured patterned bar stools, a dark coloured panelled ceiling, multi arm pendant lights, lamps and shelving with multiple drinks behind the bar — The main 9th floor bar of White City House

Interior view of the dining area on the 10th floor at White City House featuring grey flooring, an orange and off-white coloured geometric rug, wood panelled walls, wall lights, wooden dining tables with tableware, wooden and wicker chairs, a white ceiling, a pendant light, wall art and lamps, dark coloured corner seating with contrasting cushions and glass doors — This dining area on the 10th floor decked out with fluted timber panelling and wicker furniture, lending a lighter feel the space which leads out onto the rooftop pool area

View of the rooftop pool at White City House. There are multicoloured floral lounge chairs with parasols on one side of the pool and tables and chairs with parasols on the other side under a clear blue sky — Every new Soho House members club has to have one... the rooftop pool at White City House, views stretch from Wembley to the Shard

Interior view of the gym at White City House featuring wood flooring and walls, a dark coloured roof with strip and multi-sphere lighting, exercise equipment and glass windows offering a view of the stairwell outside the gym — The gym at White City House occupies the basement of the Helios building, measuring 30,000 sq ft it’s the groups largest wellness area to date and includes a spa, hamman and indoor pool

Interior view of The Allis bar at White City House featuring wood flooring, seating in different colours, tables, a dark coloured bar area with an oval shaped shelving unit in the wall with multiple bottles of drinks, colourful wall art and a dark coloured ceiling with exposed pipework. There is also an orange sign that says 'Electric Cinema' on the wall — The Allis bar on the ground floor of White City House is open the public serving an all-day menu from breakfast to late-night cocktails. In the basement below is the two-screen Electric Cinema White City

Interior view of a bedroom at White City House featuring grey walls, wood flooring, a dark wood wardrobe and a bed with white pillows and linen, a colourful pillow and a blue throw. There is also a bedside table, lamp and a dressing table with a mirror and round stool — Bedrooms at White City House are in keeping with the members club interiors with Sixties design references such as formica furniture, fluted timber and vintage-inspired lighting

INFORMATION

For more information visit the White City House website

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