ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN

Basia Chlebik
Archline Design
Falconer Chester Hall
Dave Brewitt

Hope Street Hotel brings a clean new style to Liverpool’s historic Hope Street quarter. The landmark 1860 building, in the style of a Venetian Palazzo, was originally home to the London Carriage Works and now provides the perfect setting for this four-storey hotel.

Architect and interior designer Basia Chlebik dramatically re-interpreted the space using woods, stone and glass to complement original exposed brickwork, beams and cast iron columns. One of the highlights is surely the central oak stairwell: Two of the largest pieces of structural oak to be found in Britain support the staircase that runs from top to bottom of the building. In place of a common balustrade, taught ropes of illuminated steel pierce the handrails, creating a spiralling pattern.

In 2009 41 cool and contemporary rooms were added in a new extension. The interior design has been repeated behind a remarkable glass and limestone façade.

Guestrooms are individually decorated with bespoke furniture in maple, beech and American black walnut illuminated by daylight pouring in through the picture windows. Creature comforts include king size beds covered in Egyptian linens, under-floor heating and a wooden bath. Moving into the public spaces makes for a more dramatic communal experience: A sculptural installation of triangular glass shards creates a vertical incision through the restaurant space – elegantly offset by the charm of local community life on the streets outside figuratively “spilling into” the restaurant through expansive glazing.