Fulham Town Hall extension

Built heritage and contemporary uses in perfect balance

Architecture

London, UK

Area: 6000m2

This late Victorian Town Hall building located within a popular London neighbourhood offered a fantastic opportunity to transform a grand, historic civic building and restore it to public use in the form of a new 4-star hotel for a young, design savvy clientele.

The building had undergone incremental adaptation over time and required a new strategic approach to rationalise circulation and create a coherent set of internal spaces with 90 new hotel rooms, all within listed building constraints.

Our concept combines the three separate wings of the existing building into a new unified whole, with new extensions accommodating new uses, designed as abstract volumes, filling-in pockets of space left over by historical ad hoc development. Whilst the existing building offers some outstanding spaces with ornate rooms and generous proportions, the height constraints of the new extensions, located around internal courtyards have been overcome with large rooflights and windows to maximise light and views.

En cours...

Our respectful and integrated designs helped secure planning and exceeded the criteria of both the local authorities and our client.

The mineral surface is refined by a striated pattern of moulded reliefs, also found in the burnished brass corrugated metal screening. Inserts of aggregates punctuate the mineral concrete panels, evoking the colours and finish of the signature art deco tiling found in the building. Windows are cut into the mass to sit flush with the external face of the wall.

Two cladding materials, a mineral surface for new rooms and functions and a perforated metal surface to conceal plant and escape routes, create a contemporary backdrop to the existing facades. New functions and plant, including three new lifts, have been carefully inserted and noteworthy features have been restored, with a clear distinction between historic elements and new interventions.

The restoration focusses on the retention and restoration of the building’s grand spaces, entrance halls and stairwells. Original grand halls offered the ideal proportions to become the setting for the hotel’s fine dining and venue spaces with beautiful original features enhanced to add period detail and character.

As well as offering an enhanced experience for guests, the hotel will offer co-working spaces, wellness facilities and dining and cafe spaces for use by visitors.