The Westin London City
A milestone project inspired by city and river
The brand’s UK debut, The Westin London City is described by Sleeper Magazine as a ‘milestone project’.
The hotel has nine luxury apartments, 222 guestrooms, a spa and swimming pool, extensive conference and banqueting facilities, a riverside restaurant and bar.
We were approached by developer 4C Hotel Group to redesign a scheme with existing hotel planning permission. The site, between the City of London and the River Thames, is constrained by three scheduled monuments below ground, the river, the St. Paul’s Cathedral height limitations, and a retained bridge structure.
In response to this challenging plot we designed a distinctive wedge-shaped building. As well as making good use of the site, this created two important public access elements, connecting the City with the river and joining the walkway between Albert Embankment and the Tower of London.
Architecture and construction
The building is anchored by solid stone bases. Glass and metal cladding relieve the upper storeys where angled bedroom windows create fantastic city views. The building’s lower levels house the hotel’s public areas. A double-height glazed lobby and bar provide panoramic views across the River Thames towards Shakespeare’s Globe and Bankside.
The existing bridge structure was used to house public areas, four floors of guestrooms, and a plant deck, along with the necessary structure, and M&E. The entire site sits within the viewing corridor between Greenwich and St Paul’s Cathedral. For such a large building, the hotel only touches the ground in a few places and more or less fills the site where it does.
Interior Design Overview
Using Westin’s biophilic design ethos and wellbeing brand pillars as the starting point for our interior scheme. Our concept contrasts ideas of natural and man-made, city and river, with elements responding to the concept of an estuary where the two forms can meet and merge together.
Neutral backdrops, built upon with soft tonal colourways, create undistracted views of the river and city. Layering materials introduces depth and interest, while the serene palette of natural colours is enlivened with contrasting tones and textures.
Materials in the City side of the hotel are inspired by the surrounding architecture, suiting and history of fabric dying, referenced through formal linear oak wall panelling, deep ink dyed hues and crisp tailored fabrics within the conference areas to the north.
As guests move south towards the river they experience more free-flowing organic forms with a feature paper sculpture, by Dutch paper artist Peter Gentenaar, cascading through the atrium, and a wave-like ceiling in the bar which sits above the water. Spaces are unified through the use of bath stone on the walls which relates back to the Roman Bathhouse that originally formed part of the site.
Channelling modern elegance, in the guestrooms and suites we used natural calm colours to create rooms that are personal, instinctive and have a sense of renewal. Bespoke lighting captures Westin’s biophilic ethos. Original statement pieces have been incorporated where possible, as well as custom joinery such as curved sofas, desks and headboards.
Awards and nominations
- Client
- 4C Hotel Group
- Location
- London, United Kingdom
- Status
- Completed 2021
- Uses
- Hotel
- Size
- 222 keys
- Creds
- BREEAM Excellent
- Photos
- Andy Stagg