This book features the design details of the largest and most innovative examples from such cutting-edge firms as Archi-Tectonics, ARO, Escher GuneWardena, and Office dA, among others. Its pages offer ...
London’s former Radisson Edwardian Pastoria gets a new name and a swinging look that makes it right for its West End location.
By Val Hunt
Nestled on prime real estate between London's National Gallery and Leicester Square West End theaters, the quiet, rather grave little Radisson Edwardian Pastoria was a dependable performer. It delivered occupancies in the 80s or above without doing much more than straightening the hunt paintings in the lobby. But, with its tired George VI interiors, it was never going to be a star.
"The hotel's prime location guaranteed a healthy occupancy rate, but at the time of its renovation, it was at best a three-star property," says Paul Mansi, operations director, London-based Radisson Edwardian Hotels. Adds Michael Attenborough, the company's head of design, "It had so much potential. We saw that, as a truly four-star deluxe property, the hotel would appeal across a broad spectrum of age groups."
The upside convinced Radisson Edwardian Hotels to close the Pastoria's doors in March 2007. Six months and $12 million later, the 58-room property re-emerged from its staid formality as the Brit chic Radisson Edwardian Leicester Square.
Gone are the blossoming vines creeping their way around the walls. Gone are the dainty furnishings and paisley bedrooms. In the lobby, regal red is out and monochromes are in. Seating has traversed the generation gap from stiff loveseats to a plush, crushed-velvet couch. The landscape of the fox hunt has been replaced with a wall-sized, black-and-white modern painting. There's still some animal magnetism, though, in this incarnation - as a zebra-striped coffee table.
After a London-paced business day or a night of West End theater, guests can relax in casually hip guest rooms. Attenborough sets a decidedly unstuffy tone with a centerpiece that has become synonymous with modern luxury: leather.
"We started with this fabulous fabric and we used that for the headboard," Attenborough says. The design team complemented it with a cool color theme that unifies the rest of the design elements in the room. "We matched the carpet and then the paint color to the leather and then the marble. Each step followed from that one element."
The space allocated for the guest rooms, ranging from 182 to 237 square feet, could not be expanded within the physical limits of the building. But, it could be-and was-reworked. "The investment that went into remodeling all the guest bedrooms was the most expensive part of the renovation," Mansi says. "They were completely gutted. We knocked down every single wall that wasn't load-bearing and reconfigured the bedroom layouts on each floor to maximize the feel and space within each room."