Wood Street Police Station
Heritage-led conversion of listed London police station
Our scheme to convert and extend the Grade II* listed 1960s Wood Street police station will create a 216-guestroom luxury hotel. The conversion includes a basement gym, swimming pool and associated spa, conference and meeting rooms, as well as a restaurant.
Winning praise from influential heritage bodies, our design is informed by historical research and consultation with Historic England and the City of London’s design and conservation department.
The majority of guestrooms are located within the existing classical fabric of the building, originally designed by renowned post-war architects McMorran and Whitby in 1966. A respectful two-storey extension, which maximises the number of rooms and provides a roof area for biodiverse planting, will be clad in stone and detailed to complement the existing building.
We absorbed many of the police station’s original features into the hotel’s unique offering. The police horse stables will become a gourmet restaurant with dining booths inside the individual stalls, while the preserved prisoner cells provide quirky private tasting rooms for the proposed whisky bar. The police assembly hall will be restored and become a grand ball room.
This is one of the finest post-war classical buildings in London and the only listed post-war police station in the country. We are delighted that its future looks set to be secured with this sympathetic conservation-led refurbishment scheme.
The old utilitarian service yard will be the heart of the hotel, the focus for guests as they enter. Dropped down into the basement levels to bring natural light deep into the building, the informal area will be topped by a stunning glazed atrium roof. The original vehicle turntable will become part of a central bar. The entrance hall will be stripped back to create a bright, open, welcoming layout with existing details, such as niches containing Roman wall artefacts, retained.
The new hotel will help realise the City of London Corporation’s vision for a 24/7 destination, helping to meet a growing demand from workers, tourists and residents for overnight accommodation in the Square Mile.
Several public-realm enhancements will add vibrancy to the area. Inspired by the past description of the building as a police Station disguised as a Venetian Palazzo, the scheme will see the creation of a vibrant active public space – a ‘piazza for the palazzo’ – that will improve the heritage setting of the Wood Street station and other nearby historic buildings.
"We worked closely with consultants and stakeholders to create a sympathetic design and a new and exciting purpose for this well-loved and highly unique heritage property. Reimagining the building as a destination hotel not only celebrates the rich heritage of the City of London but also creates opportunities to open up this grade II* listed asset and allow the public to enjoy its historic interiors."
- Client
- Magnificent Hotel Investments
- Location
- London, United Kingdom
- Status
- Pre-planning
- Uses
- Hotel
- Size
- 216 keys
- CGI
- ESTUDIO A2T