HOTEL REVIEW


Digital Space has triumphed at the European Hotel Design Awards for its interior design of the 1,021 guestrooms at London’s largest ever purpose built hotel.


Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London


Words: Catherine Martin Photography: Courtesy of Park Plaza Westminster Bridge


Greater London Council (GLC) have been demolished to make way for a contemporary hotel that has won recognition for its design. The £350m project involved the clearing


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and subsequent redesign of a site to one end of Westminster Bridge to provide a valuable contribution to the regeneration of South Bank. BUJ Architects and Uri


t was once the site of a building voted Britain’s eleventh ugliest and stood empty for almost twenty years. But now, the former offices of the


Blumenthal Architects & Town Planners worked together to design a building that would maximise the awkward island site and take in surrounding views of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. As such they opted for a plectrum-shaped structure – clad almost entirely in glass – that extends underground and cantilevers over the road. The project managers and main contractors


worked closely with the design team and Park Plaza Hotels to coordinate the entire project from construction through to completion. Lisa Maxen, Information Manager of GC Project Management Ltd, says: “The top down construction – in other words we built the ground floor and then went above and below ground simultaneously – was a huge challenge with excavations happening in the basement, finishes being applied to the lower floors, and concrete being poured for higher floors all at the same time. The island site also meant there was no storage space so everything from the bathroom pods to over


102 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2011 WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM 25,000m2 of cladding had to arrive on a just-


in-time basis.” Maxen also explains that the three-year


schedule was testing at times: “For example, the cladding was manufactured in China and due to the sheer volume needed for the hotel the lead time was around three months. Being a bespoke product it needed to be designed, coordinated, mocked up, brought to England, and successfully tested to UK standards, before manufacture could even begin.” The effort has paid off however with the


floor-to-ceiling windows – triple-glazed for noise reduction – offering impressive views of London landmarks and allowing natural light to flood in. Maximising the unparalleled location was


a major focus for Tel Aviv-based interior designers Digital Space. Headed up by Eyal Shoan, the firm has worked with Park Plaza Hotels previously enjoying a close relationship with Chairman Eli Papouchado and President Boris Ivesha. “Both are very hands on


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