Hyatt Place London City East opens with stunning roof bar and views across the capital
Studio Moren are celebrating the opening of the 280-key Hyatt Place London City East
The first Hyatt Place hotel in Central London and the brands first in an urban setting anywhere in the UK. The 11,700 sqm (GIA) hotel, re-planned and delivered by Studio Moren, features an all-day dining and lounge space as well as a ninth-floor bar and terrace with breath-taking views.
Working alongside clients Resolution Property and Berkeley Capital Group (BCG), Studio Moren’s architecture team reconfigured and re-planned the internal layouts of the previous aparthotel scheme, putting the Hyatt brand at the forefront of the design. The reconfiguration also allowed for the addition of the roof bar (unusual for a Hyatt Place hotel), to take advantage of impressive views to the City and Canary Wharf, and deliver added wow-factor.
The lobby and restaurant area are located on the lower ground floor alongside an orangery, courtyard, gym, and a grab-and-go food market. The guestrooms themselves include a variety of standard and accessible rooms, spread across 10 floors with varying prospects of London.
"As with all Studio Moren schemes, close collaboration and strong working relationships are key to achieving a successful development. For the past three years, we have worked closely with the client, fellow consultants and contractors to get to where we are today and we’re delighted to see Hyatt Place London City East officially open to guests. We are confident it will exceed their expectations."
Studio Moren first became involved with the site in 2014 and achieved planning for a change of use from office to serviced apartments. Following a change of ownership, the project returned to Studio Moren in 2017, with a revised brief to replan the hotel as a Hyatt Place, maximising key numbers and optimising Front of House spaces.
Located on Whitechapel High Street, the existing seven-storey building was stripped back to its concrete structure and extended by three storeys. The new envelope proposed by Studio Moren utilises Corium, a unique brick cladding system by Taylor Maxwell, which is manufactured off-site using long, non-standard brick lengths. This aided construction times without compromising the quality of installation, as well as creating a strong horizontal pattern to the brick courses.
One of the planning conditions was to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’, a challenge made more difficult by having to work with an existing shell. However, Studio Moren achieved Excellent at Design stage and worked hard to ensure it was realised during construction. Items implemented to achieve this included sedum roofs to the rear yard buildings, the installation of bird boxes at high level on the façade and responsible sourcing of materials with a low environmental impact where possible.
The site includes a number of commercial units at ground-floor level and these needed to be in continuous operation during construction, resulting in limited routes for servicing between the floors above and plant space below, and subsequently the necessity of a vacuum pumped drainage system at first floor. The use of BIM during the project helped with understanding the myriad of complicated junctions and supported the smooth delivery of the project.
"The project is exemplary for its adaptive reuse of the existing structure, carrying a strong sustainable message, as well as creating a smart and practical Hyatt hotel within the old shell. It speaks to our long track record in the conversion of existing buildings to achieve a high number of brand-compliant rooms. In addition, our understanding of the hotel business gives us the insight to reconfigure the layouts to deliver exciting front-of house spaces and a strong guest experience."
The Hyatt Place London City East opened its doors on 28th June.