Easy access: London’s Berkeley Hotel unveils a new entrance
It’s been a busy six months for The Berkeley as a crack team of designers led by Robert Angell and London-based architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners worked on three major projects within the hotel – the first, an expanded entrance, and two extensions.
The new entrance, especially, has been long overdue – the former low-key approach is now considerably enhanced by impressive volumes and proportions.
The architects have unapologetically described their design as a first in hotel architecture. Specifically, Ivan Harbour, a partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour, says his firm was careful to avoid ‘the lightweight, ‘high tech’ add-on entrance canopy cliché that has pervaded our cities since Llloyd’s of London. At The Berkeley, we conceived the entrance as a complete new building – a contemporary lean-to.’
The reference to a lean-to is a sly understatement, for the new entrance is a dramatic statement piece, particularly in the evening when the whole structure practically flares in the dark.
A glass canopy is stretched out over 16 nine-metre-long carbon fibre beams that provide a pleasing geometrical pattern that provides structural strength without sacrificing the sense of feathery lightness. The entire structure rests on an austere forest of timber masts and stainless steel columns driven into the stone base. Flanking each end is a full-length glass pavilion, both forming the new extensions to The Berkeley’s beloved The Blue Bar and the newly christened Collins Room (formerly the Caramel Room).
Honeycomb details on the canopy glass and pavilions create a subtle effect of dappled light on the new lobby by Robert Angell who has installed veneered eucalyptus wood panels, marble floors, alabaster wall lights and nickel inlay details.
The project, as ambitious as it is, is only the first salvo in The Berkeley’s tip-to-toe spruce up. Up next is a series of new suites by designed by John Heah and Helen Green Studio, alongside new outdoor terraces by Rogers Stirk Harbour
ADDRESS
Wilton Place
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
The Brazilian Forest House injects art into a modernist-inspired, contemporary design
The Brazilian Forest House, designed in upstate São Paulo by FGMF, brings together nature and art
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Waiting room inspo: Inside Studioutte’s cinematic Sala D’Attesa at Milan Design Week
Studioutte’s Sala D’Attesa, staged in Nolo during Milan Design Week 2024, was a scenographic interior merging different design sensibilities
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Bang & Olufsen’s Recreated Classics series continues with a CD player revival
Bang & Olufsen’s Beosystem 9000c music system brings the original digital compact disc format back to life and pairs it with the latest in speaker design
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallacher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Step inside Juno Omakase, London’s smallest counter dining experience
Juno Omakase, inside Los Mochis Notting Hill, offers a one-of-a-kind tasting menu in which Tokyo meets Tulum
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Revel in 007 glamour at Raffles London at The OWO
Raffles London at The OWO opens its doors after a majestic six-year restoration
By Daniel Scheffler Published
-
Rent British musician Imogen Holst’s home via Modernist Estates
Discover Imogen Holst’s home, designed by H.T. Cadbury Brown, in the seaside town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Mimosa at The Langham brings French Riviera flavour to London
Mimosa, the new restaurant at The Langham hotel, London, boasts a menu and interiors infused with Riviera style
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Mayfair’s Murano offers beautiful design and incisively cooked food
Angela Hartnett’s Murano celebrates 15 years of Italian supremacy in London with a fresh look by Fabled Studio
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Dine amid old-school glamour at The Dover in London’s Mayfair
The Dover, founded by Martin Kuczmarski and designed by Quincoces-Dragò & Partners, is where 1970s Brooklyn meets classic Italian charm
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Morchella, in Clerkenwell, serves Mediterranean classics and Old World wine
Morchella restaurant and wine bar brings finely crafted cosy chic to a former bank near Exmouth Market, London
By Billie Brand Published