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W Budapest hotel occupies 19th-century Drechsler Palace
CategoriesInterior Design

W Budapest hotel occupies 19th-century Drechsler Palace

By Zarkon Group,

Interior design studios Bowler James Brindley and Bánáti + Hartvig have transformed a 140-year-old neo-Renaissance building in central Budapest into the latest outpost from hotel chain W Hotels.

W Budapest is set inside the 1886 Drechsler Palace designed by architects Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos, previously home to a grand cafe and the headquarters of the Hungarian State Ballet Academy.

Bowler James Brindley transforms 19th-century palace into W Budapest
Bowler James Brindley and Bánáti + Hartvig have renovated Drechsler Palace

Working with local studio Bánáti + Hartvig, London-based Bowler James Brindley (BJB) wanted to draw out the glamorous history of the building, which had stood empty for 15 years before being acquired by W Hotels’ owner Marriott International.

BJB aimed to “playfully modernise” the interiors while drawing on the architecture of the surrounding area on Andrássy Avenue – a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s also home to the Hungarian State Opera House.

Bowler James Brindley transforms 19th-century palace into W Budapest
The building now houses the 151-room W Budapest hotel

Alongside 151 rooms and suites, the building now houses a restaurant, lounge, spa and speakeasy.

“The challenge from the outset was not to be overawed by the beauty and strength of the building,” BJB partner Ian Bayliss told Dezeen.

“Many original details of Drechsler Palace were studied and re-imagined, as were original colours and textures. Protected architecture has been carefully restored and celebrated, and original glazed tiles have been reused.”

Bowler James Brindley transforms 19th-century palace into W Budapest
Gridded metal screens surround the beds in the guest rooms

Central to BJB’s conversion was the re-establishment of the palace’s two original entrances. This allowed the studio to free up the spaces bordering Andrassy Avenue and create a “living room” within the building’s light-filled inner courtyard, which has been enclosed by a glass roof.

Tasked with modernising the building’s interiors while adhering to heritage protection rules, BJB made what it calls “second skin” interventions, which included the creation of new “corridors” within the palace’s ornate arches using freestanding, fret-cut installations.

The bathrooms in W Budapest reference a chessboard
In the bathrooms, checkerboard tiles reference Hungary’s affiliation with chess

“We wanted to respect the fabric and ‘skin’ of Drechsler Palace so we set about designing spaces, which created a new atmosphere while not touching the beautifully restored fabric,” Bayliss explained.

The studio took the same approach to the restoration of the palace’s vaulted basement spa, which uses “Houdini-inspired” mirror illusions to create a feeling of never-ending space.

Curving bronze metal installations follow the vaulted ceilings, while dimly lit treatment rooms were inserted within the natural spaces left by existing columns.

“In homage to Houdini, the treatment rooms are completely mirror-clad and essentially disappear, literally reflecting the existing architecture and the new second-skin installations,” Bayliss said, referencing Hungarian-born magician Harry Houdini.

Bowler James Brindley transforms 19th-century palace into W Budapest
Turquoise wall panelling is contrasted with gold-toned details

In the guest rooms, turquoise wall panelling is contrasted with the gold-toned screens that wrap the beds, while mirrored checkerboard doors with brass details nod to Hungary’s long ties to the game of chess.

The chess theme continues in the bathrooms, where monochrome checkerboard tiling is offset by handmade terrazzo-lined double sinks and lightbulb-framed Hollywood mirrors that pay tribute to Hungarian-American socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor.

“The combination of a beautiful free-standing French Renaissance-inspired building by a famous local architect with a modern, idiosyncratic interior inserted into it could only happen in Budapest,” Bayliss said.

The hotel opens later this month

Set to open later this month, W Budapest follows the opening of the brand’s Rome outpost in 2021.

Previous projects by Bowler James Brindley include several guest rooms at the W Barcelona and apartments on the lower levels of Herzog & de Meuron’s One Park Drive skyscraper in Canary Wharf.

Other hotels recently featured on Dezeen include a “thoughtfully designed” brutalist hotel in Mexico and Capella Hotels’ Sydney outpost, which is housed within a heritage-listed former government building.

The photography is courtesy of W Budapest. 

Reference

Birch Selsdon hotel takes over 19th-century Croydon mansion
CategoriesInterior Design

Birch Selsdon hotel takes over 19th-century Croydon mansion

By Zarkon Group,

British hotel chain Birch has opened an outpost in south London, with grounds rewilded by designer Sebastian Cox and interiors conceived by local studios A-nrd and Sella Concept.

Birch Selsdon is housed in a 19th-century mansion in the borough of Croydon and accommodates 181 rooms alongside a wellness space and lido, co-working facilities and a medley of restaurants and bars.

Birch Selsdon hotel occupies a 19th-century mansion
Birch Selsdon takes over a 19th-century mansion

The building was first turned into a hotel in the 1920s, with slapdash extensions and modifications added over the following century.

Local studios A-nrd and Sella Concept took a “restorative approach” to the interior works, stripping back much of the existing fit-out to allow the building’s original architecture to come to the fore.

Entrance lobby hotel by A-nrd and Sella Concept
The building’s original stone walls and bas-relief ceilings can be seen in the lobby

Restoration was also the focus for Sebastian Cox, who developed a woodland management plan for the hotel’s grounds as well as a rewilding strategy for its 18-hole golf course.

This will involve introducing grazing pigs and ponies, which can naturally distribute seeds and shape growing vegetation. The former fairways of the golf course will become wetlands, while the sandy bunkers will eventually attract small reptiles and other animals.

Entrance lobby of Birch Selsdon hotel
Timber from the grounds was used to create the shingled reception desks

Cox has also turned trees harvested from the grounds into a series of furnishings for the hotel, creating affordable, locally produced products while providing ecosystem benefits for the woodland.

“Managed woodlands have higher biodiversity because when you harvest the trees, light gets onto the woodland floor and other vegetation can grow,” Cox explained during a recent episode of Dezeen’s Climate Salon podcast.

“So we can categorically say that our furniture actually makes a net contribution. It doesn’t just harvest materials, it actually contributes to the spaces that the materials come from.”

Vervain restaurant inside hotel by A-nrd and Sella Concept
An arched nook discovered during the hotel’s renovation is now a dining space

Among Cox’s furniture contributions is a pair of shingled timber reception desks in the entrance lobby, backed by an ombre curtain that mirrors the shifting seasonal hues of the landscape around Birch Selsdon.

The lobby’s floral bas-relief ceiling was preserved alongside the original masonry walls, which peek out from behind the curtain.

Meadow Bar inside Birch Selsdon hotel
Peach-coloured surfaces appear in Birch Selsdon’s Meadow Bar

Dotted throughout the space are moss-green velvet sofas as well as wicker armchairs, potted plants and vintage petal-shaped pendant lamps made from Murano glass.

When guests are hungry, they can head to the hotel’s all-day restaurant Vervain, which serves a farm-to-table menu.

The space is anchored by two huge, arched banquettes featuring seat cushions upholstered in an abstract camouflage print and sawn-timber backrests, which were also sourced from the hotel’s woodland.

Oversized rice paper lanterns hang from the ceiling overhead, which is painted a rich apricot shade to highlight the existing ornate bas-relief.

The Snug inside hotel by A-nrd and Sella Concept
The hotel includes another bar called The Snug with wood-panelled walls

For drinks, guests can head to the hotel’s peachy-hued Meadow Bar or to the Snug, which has a slightly more grown-up aesthetic thanks to the dark, wood-panelled walls that are original to the building.

The space is dressed with vintage travertine coffee tables and an array of lounge chairs in sumptuous colours like ochre, olive green and damson purple.

The Orangery inside Birch Selsdon hotel
Chequerboard flooring in The Orangery nods to the Victorian period

To one side of the room lies a curved seating nook that was uncovered during the renovation works. Its interior was rendered in blush pink to foster a warm, intimate dining ambience.

There’s also the option to relax in The Orangery, a light-filled space centred by a wiggly cobalt-blue sofa. Terracotta tiles are arranged in a traditional checkerboard pattern across the floor in a nod to the building’s Victorian past.

Guest bedrooms inside hotel by A-nrd and Sella Concept
Bedrooms are filled with textural details like linen curtains and sisal rugs

The aesthetic of the hotel’s communal spaces is maintained in the guest bedrooms, which are finished with textural decorative elements like linen curtains and hand-blown glass lamps that cast dappled light across the limewashed walls.

Larger suites come complete with lounge areas, dressed with plump armchairs and sisal rugs.

Timber from the hotel’s woods was also used to produce 352 bedside tables for the rooms, all crafted in Cox’s Kent workshop.

Guest bedrooms inside Birch Selsdon hotel
The bedside tables are also made with timber from the hotel’s grounds

The launch of Birch Selsdon comes just three years after the opening of the inaugural Birch branch near Hertfordshire.

It was designed by architecture studio Red Deer to challenge the notion of a luxury hotel and features a series of pared-back rooms with quirky, unfinished details.

The photography is by Adam Lynk.

Reference