MOREXLESS

Steel parametric panels_Town Hall Hotel_RARE Architecture

Project: Town Hall Hotel

Location: Cambridge Health Road, London, UK

Year: 2010

Architect(s): RARE Architecture

Town Hall Hotel is a new 98-room luxury hotel, restaurant and bar housed in the old Bethnal Green Town Hall, at the heart of London's burgeoning East End. Comprising the provision of a contemporary extension in the form of a new top floor and wing, the project also included the restoration and refurbishment of the existing Grade II listed building.

The extension to the building, a new wing that stands behind the original 1910 structure and an additional floor that sits atop the flat roof of the 1937 extension, provides a further 1500 square metres of accommodation. Wrapped entirely by a laser cut powder coated aluminium skin, no windows or doors are externally visible, allowing it to create a striking abstract backdrop to the original structure, while simultaneously making a definite statement as new architecture.

The pattern cut into the skin was taken from a pattern book rare developed for the project. An original art deco feature in the Council Chamber inspired the parametrically defined pattern book, a design exercise apparent in not only the aluminium skin but many of rare’s new interventions in the hotel from radiator and air conditioning covers to decorative wall panels. The effect of the pattern cut into the skin is performative, allowing natural light into the rooms behind it, while also preserving the privacy of those both inside and out.

The faceted form of the extension’s skin and roof was dictated by light and views that had to be maintained for neighbouring buildings. rare’s design response to these parameters is an example of their ability to provide harmonious elegance and functionality. The skin’s distinctive form is repeated in features including the hotel’s brass reception desk and corridor ceilings of the extension, again bringing together glamour and function.