An abandoned church on London’s Southampton Row has been transformed into the 39-room L’Oscar. Parisian architect Jacques Garcia has conjured an ornate interior in a bold palette of deep purple, red, petrol blue and canary yellow, with evidence of the hotel’s ecclesiastical past cleverly woven into the design.
There are original details from tiled floors to fireplaces that feature terracotta panels that depict scenes from the bible. Sharp-eyed guests will spot elements from these panels creatively reinterpreted by Garcia in details around the hotel such as the 495 individual Lalique-style birds that are used as light fittings throughout the hotel or the flora and fauna that is embroidered into bespoke fabrics and furniture designed by Watts of Westminster.
Meanwhile, the building’s Grade-II listed chapel now houses a restaurant run by chef Tony Fleming and a bar is installed where the organ used to be.
There are 2 original fireplaces with royal Doulton terracotta panels. 3,500 bottles of roja Dove perfume have been made for l’oscar as its signature scent
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
6 Southampton Row
-
In Brazil’s Minas Gerais, Casa Koba is an ‘unserious’ house full of freedom and comfortA relaxed, high-altitude home is Estudio Haa's latest residential project; welcome to Casa Koba, a house designed for comfort and fun
-
‘In memory there is defiance’: inside the V&A exhibition exploring Palestinian textile and embroidery as an act of resistanceAmid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, a new exhibition at V&A Dundee explores Palestinian textiles, embroidery and garments as a means to tell personal and communal histories
-
Jeweller Ara Vartanian and rapper Swizz Beatz team up on a fusion of spiky silhouettes, sculptural forms and seductive gemsA pairing that's been in the works since 2019 – and finally we get to see the results
-
Hamburg’s Tortue hotel opens following renovation by David Chipperfield Architects and Stephen Williams -
Artful lodger: Dexter Moran Associates designs London's Vintry and Mercer -
Artful lodger: The Jacques Grange-designed Hotel Mamá opens in Palma -
Artful lodger: Botswana’s Mombo Camp is refurbished by design firm Artichoke -
Artful lodger: The former Hotel Russell gets a makeover by Tara Bernerd
