Today’s The Standard hotel in London is a rescued treasure of Brutalist architecture. The building was constructed in the 1970s as an annex to the Camden Borough Hall, but by the early 21st century the city was already considering demolishing it. Thanks to a long battle and the commitment of the architects, the outdated edifice was successfully transformed into an aesthetically pleasing hotel. The new landmark is a red pill-shaped lift that rides along the concrete facade.
Concrete sandpit
In the 1960s, Camden became the open laboratory of Sydney Cook’s Brutalist architecture. The architect created concrete estates of the future such as the famous Alexandra Road Estate. The grey buildings were designed on a human scale and with good access to light and greenery. In the following decade, Cook was commissioned to develop an annexe to the district town hall.
A brutalist eight-storey building was added to the 1930s neo-classical town hall. The heavy volume “hovers” above the street through a dark single-storey recess. The main part of the façade consists of prefabricated slabs of light-coloured concrete. Thanks to the segmental construction, the façade swirls into rounded shapes that clearly divide the building into sections. Embedded in the slabs are curved windows that resemble the screens of old television sets. In turn, a ribbed black grille forms a break from the concrete waves. It is worth mentioning that similar precast elements were used in the pioneering Brutalist CBR office building in Brussels, which you can read about HERE.
A deteriorating beauty
The Cook Building served its purpose until 2014, when officials moved out of the Annexe. By the early 2000s, the building was already in need of a major overhaul, but a hesitant City Hall delayed action. There was even the idea of demolishing the building and replacing it with a much taller structure. Fortunately, the Brutalist icon was preserved thanks to architect Ian Chalk, who emphasised the historical value of the building.
Hotel companies became interested in the former annexe, and a few years later the Orms architectural studio created a design for a renovated building. The unique façade was thoroughly cleaned and a glass floor with terraces and a bar grew on the roof. Interestingly, a red pill-shaped lift was inserted in place of the black ribbing, which stands out against the white concrete. This is how The Standard hotel looks today, standing opposite another beautiful hotel, St Pancras, which you can read about HERE.
Back to the future
The hotel opened in 2019 and inside there are 266 hotel rooms of varying standards. The interiors were designed by Shawn Hausman, who wanted to create a colourful utopia hidden behind cold concrete. It has to be said that the hotel’s design is incredibly creative and harks back to the colourful design of the 1960s. Interestingly, the lift described earlier refers to the same era.
London’s The Standard is an amazing example of how a historic building can be tastefully adapted. The Orms’ design is not a reworking of the building, but more an extension of the original architect’s vision. The striking lift or colourful interiors are taken straight out of Sydney Cook’s time, and the colour has helped to breathe some life into the grey London landscape.
Source: The Brutalist
Also read: Architecture | Curiosities | Hotel | London | UK | Brutalism | Concrete | whiteMAD on Instagram
