THE LANESBOROUGH CLUB & SPA

Posted in Products, Projects on 12 June, 2017

Noted as London’s finest private members’ club, the newly opened Lanesborough Club & Spa offers hotel guests and members bespoke wellness, fitness and lifestyle services.

Inspired by the Roman Bath Spa, the design duo at 1508 London have created a design to embody an elegant and exclusive sanctuary.

‘‘The Lanesborough is a traditional British Institution, so when designing the Club & Spa, we used the hotel’s heritage as inspiration to create a space with a modern but quintessentially British feel,’’ said Louise Wicksteed, Creative Director and Partner of 1508.

The Lanesborough brand, style and offering is quintessential, and world-renowned, the hotel is part of the prestigious Oetker Collection. The opportunity to create a 21^st century facility that understands and promotes the established brand, responds to the guests’ needs and furthers the new designs for the Hotel by Alberto Pinto. The design simultaneously generates its own characteristics, which are befitting the specific functionality and atmospheric qualities associated with spa and wellness is, rightly, unprecedented.

1508 London have developed a design concept that is based on the principles of The Lanesborough of being ‘bespoke, intuitive, discreet and intimate’.

Through the design proposition, we have sought to develop the hotel’s key directive for achieving a ‘home from home’ service environment; extending these inherent qualities to new facilities within which members can re-invigorate, relax and socialise.

Our starting point was identifying key experiences; firstly, to create an immediate, tangible connection between the hotel and spa. Secondly, to create an intuitive design that draws one into the journey of the space. By creating a balanced hybrid of club, lounge, fitness and spa will create a sense of luxurious space but with private pockets. Finally, celebrating and enlivening the structure will create a truly atmospheric and timeless design.

The concept design creates a distinctive Club & Spa facility that maintains a tangible connection with the operations and stylistics of the renovated hotel. The design considers the quintessential originals of wellness, and 1508 have sought to create ‘a prestigious British Club & Spa’.

In the idiom of the design of the Hotel, 1508 have created a design that is both subtle and characterful, where spaces are identified through distinct characteristics and where everyday occurrences are celebrated as spatial events. Each space and functional setting has its one unique character, signature materiality and beauty; each flowing intuitively and harmoniously together.

1508 London have carefully respected and re-imagined the classical aesthetic of The Lanesborough while creating a uniqueness that gives strength of character and experience; for instance the fluted column is playfully re-imagined as a unique experience of material and light, these playful installations add uniqueness to individual spaces and ultimately create a destination that are setting the brand apart from other competitors.

A strong aspect of the design is the emphasis on inherently British characteristics of the proposition. The concept uses British materials and craft throughout and traditional methods are used to create bespoke designs and finishes that provide uniquely tailored solutions.

The simplicity of the core materiality draws the eye to the beautifully crafted details. Intricate detailed artisan glass and specialist finishes create a warmer intimate mood. On the wider scale carved stones and varying textures of the core palette create a subtle yet rich aesthetic.

The pattern detail has been taken from the existing Lanesborough leaf cut glass design.

This shape has been developed into variations that can be used within different materials and will be applied throughout the design. The shape in its most simple form creates the extruded rod detail around the main event space. This pattern then evolves into more complex shapes, which can be applied to detailed marquetry within the joinery, inlaid floor patterns, plaster mouldings and intricate leather and textile work. The same pattern is never to be repeated throughout the spaces and the detail is applied using varying techniques giving each space its own unique identity.

The resulting designs have genuine depth and resonance and, ultimately and quintessentially The Lanesborough.