26-storey hotel in South Shoreditch Conservation Area with 357 rooms, co-workspace, art gallery, event spaces, spa, gym, pool, several bars and restaurants

Squire & Partners has designed art’otel London Hoxton, one of a contemporary collection of hotels in Europe by PPHE Group which fuse architectural style with art-inspired interiors.

Occupying a prominent corner within the South Shoreditch Conservation Area, the 26-storey cylindrical form comprises 340 guest rooms, with city views maximised in all directions. The tower also comprises several floors of co-workspace, creative studios, an art gallery, events space, gym, spa and pool, cinema, restaurants, bars and lounges.

Responding to the distinct context of its location, art’otel London Hoxton’s design makes a subtle nod to the history of Silicon Roundabout and its part in the development of the computer. The cylindrical architectural form and cladding references the mechanical components of early analogue computers.

Taking the form of an extruded cogwheel, the tower’s façade is divided into bands by horizontal aluminium shelves. Spanning the height of each band, twisted black aluminium fins are positioned in a syncopated rhythm around the tower. Each of the double-height floorplates is then rotated, to create the illusion of a series of moving components.

The spacing between the twisted fins is adapted at different levels in response to internal uses – creating privacy and solar shading for guest rooms and more continuous views from the shared entertaining spaces of the top floors.

At its base, two mixed-use blocks flank the tower and provide access for hotel residents, with each featuring large-scale original Banksy artworks conserved from the original site and incorporated into the entrance design.