RSHP completes integrated hotel design in Knightsbridge, London

RSHP has developed a comprehensive design for The Berkeley and the adjacent 33–39 Knightsbridge site. The project covers the refurbishment and redesign of the existing The Berkeley and facilities, the extension of the hotel’s north block and the new-built The Emory on Knightsbridge.

RSHP’s collaboration with Maybourne started 20 years ago with a major refurbishment and extension project. First, this resulted in a new entrance canopy and the transformation of the public areas at ground floor for The Berkeley, completed and opened in 2016. There was a 10-year gap between the initial planning permission in 2007 and the restart of construction 2017 until 2024, in part caused by a purposeful pause for the London 2012 Olympics. The design has evolved through extensive consultation with Westminster City Council, as well as with the Knightsbridge Association, the Royal Parks and other statutory and local amenity groups.

The distinctive contemporary insertion of The Emory offers a contrast and a complementary addition to the existing building and the refurbished north block. The design creates eight levels of accommodation and a 9th level of social spaces, offering 60 suites and one penthouse. The modular structure enables flexible use of the rooms that can be transformed from separate suites into one apartment on each floor.

The design includes a new destination wellness club and pool together with extended street-facing retail, restaurant / bar and lounge spaces. The setting for The Emory has involved significant improvements to Old Barrack Yard to enable the creation of a unique arrival space for the hotel in the form of a light-filled indoor / outdoor courtyard area.

Facing Knightsbridge, The Emory’s open street-front restaurant, abc kitchens, is raised above the pavement, offering diners views over passing cars towards Hyde Park whilst creating defensible space between the street and the welcome openness of the building.

RSHP’s design concept for The Emory responds to severe site constraints: complexities within the ground, to the north Piccadilly Line tunnels running as close as 6m, and to the south bordered by the subterranean support areas of The Berkeley hotel. To overcome these constraints, a stability structure with a part-suspended floor system was incorporated into the fabric of the building and expressed on the skyline. 

The whole structure top to bottom sits on bearings that minimise vibrations from passing trains impacting the hotel. The approach provides a structurally efficient solution, covering a very small footprint, minimising the impact on the internal layout of the superstructure, but also giving the new building a visually striking appearance, whilst achieving architectural clarity.

The principal structure works like a tree, with the façades being picked up and kept in place by rods, branching out and holding up all the floors, extending out and over the subterranean parts of the hotel. The design offers a clear visual presence for this part of Knightsbridge sensitive to the surrounding conservation areas.

 The sail-boom structure above the roofline celebrate the building rising towards the sky, above the existing roofs whilst from Hyde Park, the visual impact of The Emory is restrained. The roof top hosts two set-back pavilions, spaces for a hotel bar and terrace with extensive views over London.

Ivan Harbour, Senior Partner, RSHP, says: “This project has seen a level of spatial and logistics complexity that would normally be lost in a building’s ‘fat’, its wall linings and backrooms. Here, there is no space to hide, this is watchmaking, implemented with great clarity and finesse.”

Paul Thompson, Associate Partner, RSHP, says: “A key to unlocking the site as a dual hotel destination was removing two bays off the existing The Berkeley hotel park-facing brick façade, installing full height windows and a stone façade in keeping with the main building, enabling The Emory to stand as a ‘jewel’, completing the city block.”

Commenting on the opening of The Emory, Roland Fasel, Group Chief Operating Officer at Maybourne, said: “The Emory is the latest London opening from Maybourne in over 50 years and is making its mark within the modern architectural and hospitality scene. With a heady combination of the world’s greatest architects and designers, a leading restaurant, unparalleled 360-degree rooftop views across the city, The Emory sets out to be a leader in quiet luxury, offering something completely unique.”