048 PROJECT / ME HOTEL, LONDON, UK
Pic: Nigel Young, Foster + Partners
The ME Hotel, located in the heart of the City of London and on the corner of Aldwych, was once the home of the Gaiety Theatre which was damaged during the war and demolished to make way for an office block in the modernity surge of the 1960’s. An elliptical tower on the corner of the hotel defines the end-point for the Aldwych Crescent and marks the main entrance at street level, which is sheltered beneath a wide glass fan. The corner tower is topped by a glass cupola – a contemporary reinterpretation of the Edwardian-style domed roof across the street – that houses the living space for the impressive ME penthouse suite, with its 360-degree pano- rama of the city.
Meliá Hotels International currently oper- ates more than 350 hotels in 35 countries and four continents under its many differ- ent brands. ME by Meliá is the group’s most contemporary hotel brand and, as such, the London version had to conform to the highest design standards. The hotel, designed by Foster + Partners, is the first flagship hotel in which the archi- tects have shaped both the building shell and interior, resulting in a continuity of the architecture throughout from the load baring Portland stone façade down to the smallest detail within the guestrooms. Giles Robinson, Partner, Foster + Partners, states: “By designing the hotel inside and
out, down to the last detail, we were able to maintain a high level of quality and continuity. Inside, the bold black and white interior palette establishes a strong identity – we defined the individual character of each space through variations in tone, tex- ture and scale. This commitment to quality throughout would not have been possible without the encouragement of our client and our shared goal to create an exception- al experience for guests.”
The design seamlessly integrates the con- struction of a new 157-bed hotel with the
Top The perimeter of the main reception is illuminated with iGuzzini linear LED profile luminaires recessed within the floor to avoid direct visibility and to give the optical illusion of a floating floor. Digital projection mapping adds interest to the vertical plane. Above Bespoke fluorescent battens with specially designed louvres hide the light sources from the highly reflective marble clad internal wall surfaces of the guest corridors.
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