Squire & Partners has designed art’otel Hoxton, the London flagship of a contemporary collection of hotels in Europe fusing architectural style with art-inspired interiors. art'otel Hoxton will include creative studios, an arts hub, spa and cinema space.
The site occupies a prominent corner within the South Shoreditch Conservation Area, with designs responding to a precedent of bull-nose buildings which characterise the area. Based on a pure cylindrical form rising to 26 storeys, city views are maximised in all directions.
In addition to several floors of workspace, the hotel comprises 340 guestrooms, a gym, spa and pool, art gallery, cinema, restaurants, bars and lounges.
Through the design process, the cylindrical form of the building evolved into a fractured cogwheel form in plan, rising and adapting in response to its context and interior functions.
Each section of the cogwheel is extruded over two floors, separated by a horizontal aluminium shelf which allows each cog to read individually within the overall composition. Double height floorplates are then rotated to give the illusion of a series of moving components.
Within each cogwheel, twisting metal fins span from top to bottom in a variety of sizes. The reflective, elegant forms are positioned in syncopated rhythm around the tower, giving a depth of articulation to the façade.
Framing the tower at first floor height, two large-scale original Banksy artworks which were part of the site are conserved and incorporated into the design.
