Site of Café Royal London : Architecture Information

17 Feb 2009 David Chipperfield Architects appointed to design new luxury 5 star hotel on London's Regent Street The Alrov Group has appointed David Chipperfield Architects to design their new luxury 5 star hotel on the site of the Café Royal on London's Regent Street. The new 25,000 m2, 160 room hotel will occupy the entire southern Quadrant block of Regent Street, overlooking Piccadilly Circus. The location has been referred to as "the most important architectural statement in Regent Street, which is itself one of the great architectural set pieces of London." Aerial view showing Regent Street. with Café Royal site highlighted in light orange: David Chipperfield Architects have already submitted a revised Listed Building application, retaining more of the existing fabric than the previously granted planning permission. The project will carefully renovate the listed interiors of the Café Royal including the marble Entrance Hall, the Grill Room and Domino Room. In addition, the project reinstates an interpretation of the original Ten Room as a new double height foyer on Air Street, which until recently had been obscured. Five other historic rooms will be converted to large VIP Suites, including one beneath the copper dome at the apex of Piccadilly Circus and Glasshouse Street, with views of Big Ben and St James's Park. David Chipperfield Architects commented, "We are tremendously excited to work on this project, providing a new luxury hotel for London on such a significant site with a remarkable past. Our project aims to ensure that the existing building's Louis XVI interiors sit comfortably within the framework of an entirely new, state of the art hotel." David Chipperfield Architects' have designed two other hotels which were inserted into historic buildings - the Bryant Park Hotel in New York was inserted into Raymond Hood's landmark Radiator Building and in Miami, two existing Art Deco structures were transformed into the Shore Club. In 2007 the practice completed the Empire Riverside Hotel in Hamburg. Construction of the project is expected to begin in summer 2009 and conclude before 2012. Regent Street Hotel London image / information from David Chipperfield Architects 170209