The Emory
Overview
The distinctive contemporary insertion of The Emory into the Berkeley hotel site in Knightsbridge offers a contrast and a complementary addition to the existing building and the refurbished north block.
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. 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 design creates eight levels of accommodation and a 9th level of social spaces, offering 60 sun-filled 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.
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.
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