Premier Hospitality

Pan Pacific London

Pan Pacific
Written by Roma Publications

Pan Pacific London

The City’s magnificent new landmark, the flagship One Bishopsgate Plaza, is a 43 storey bronze tower and plaza complex that incorporates the Pan Pacific London hotel, and is the first mixed-use development of its kind in the Square Mile.

The building has already been awarded various accolades by the International Property Awards for its architecture, design and mixture of uses, several years before it was due to open.

The new hotel, located within the bronze tower, is due to open at the end of spring, marking Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s first footprint in Europe.

Pan Pacific London is a modern urban retreat in the heart of the City of London, just moments from Liverpool Street Station, and combines sincere Singaporean hospitality with contemporary London design.

A new statement of indulgence with interiors designed by New-York based duo Yabu Pushelberg, the hotel appeals to city workers and urban explorers with a slew of world-class amenities.

These include 237 guestrooms and one-bedroom suites, one all day dining restaurant, one afternoon tea lounge, one patisserie and two bars; a wellbeing floor with treatment rooms, relaxation pods, a well-equipped gym and fitness area, a Living Room with a curated nutritional menu, and 18.5m indoor infinity pool; a public plaza; two floors of meeting rooms and event spaces, as well as the largest ballroom in the Square Mile hosting banquets for up to 400 guests – plus many more facilities.

The welcoming feel of the hotel’s entrance design, which echoes the geometry, patterns and shapes of the 43-storey tower, is designed to invite guests and the local community into the space.

Catering to well heeled, discerning travellers, the luxurious Pan Pacific London will provide a facility unmatched in scale and quality by any existing hotels in the area. The provision of top-quality meeting and events space, including the double-height ballroom, together with the other public functions of the hotel will support The City’s function as a centre for international business.

Epitomising the juxtaposition of old and new London architecture, One Bishopsgate Plaza encapsulates not only the bronze tower, encompassing Pan Pacific London and private Sky Residence apartments, but also the 144 year old One Devonshire House, featuring designer shops, a destination restaurant and a contemporary cocktail bar. A landscaped public plaza seamlessly connects these two cultural hubs together, making it a 24-hour destination for meeting, living, working and discovering. This is a real lifestyle destination in the city.

Designed by PLP Architecture, the practice behind some of the world’s smartest and most sustainable buildings, Pan Pacific London represents an unprecedented leap in both creativity and quality – in which PLP Architecture are facing the challenge of transcending the pre-existing standards of luxury and elegance that the Pan Pacific Hotels Group is renowned for.

Mark Kelly of PLP Architecture said: “It is very unusual to obtain permission to build both a hotel and a residential building within The City. The project had a very long gestation – in fact we were originally looking into the concept of creating a whole new plaza incorporating a series of buildings around 2007, with the scheme being given planning consent in 2010. Further minor alterations to the plans were made in 2011, with the finalised scheme receiving assent in 2012. The site was then purchased by Pan Pacific’s parent company in 2014, when we started working with them.”

There were a number of constraints including nearby Victorian buildings – some of which are incorporated within the scheme – as well as a Crossrail tunnel below the site. In addition, the positioning of the tower was driven by a whole series of protected viewing corridors associated with the walk Queen’s Walk in front of the GLA building on the south side of the river by Tower Bridge.

Mark Kelly continued: “This is why the building is structured with a series of terraces at level 34 and level 26 on the eastern elevation. As architects, we work within these site constraints to develop a well resolved massing and an approach that fulfils the hotel and residential brief – and in this case it worked very nicely. In fact, the site lends itself very well to the required combination of uses.

The tower is designed to demonstrate the very high quality and ambitions of the overall development. Its form steps back as it rises, providing terraces and other amenity spaces for residents and guests. An intricately-detailed façade with bronze louvres in varying configurations provides aesthetic sophistication and contrast to the adjacent Heron Tower’s more solid form.

Mark Kelly commented: “What is great about this site is that due to its positioning, the 43 storey tower could go only in one location – towards the eastern end of the site – which makes for a fantastic public plaza fronting Houndsditch and Bishopsgate. This is then complimented by the ribbon of historic buildings on Devonshire Road, which are incorporated within the scheme.”

Other standout features of the development include the striking anodised bronze colour of the tower, which reflects the light beautifully. Then there’s the amazing scale-like roof which sits on top of the whole of the Victorian buildings lining Devonshire Road to one side of the plaza, unifying the look of the scheme and giving it a new lease of life.

Another striking element is that to serve the hotel’s ballroom, the architects have incorporated an all-glass pavilion containing an escalator and a lift that allow people to move from the ballroom space into the plaza.

In terms of sustainability, the tower building has to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, and there are also a number of ‘green’ roof spaces with planting – for example on levels 34, 42 and right the way up to the roof level. In addition, planters and trees are also incorporated within the public spaces on the lower levels.

Then there’s the plaza itself – animated by retail, cafés, water features and planting, the new plaza will become the heart of a new urban quarter that the project creates. It will support a lively public realm, providing legibility and connecting adjacent Liverpool Street Station to the pedestrian routes, quieter ambience and smaller scale of the neighbourhoods beyond.

Mark Kelly concluded: “For me, when I studied architecture, I dreamt of designing tall buildings just like the one in this scheme and I think that it is incredible that something that starts with just one or two people working on a design expands to a workforce of around 10,000 both on and off site producing vital components to bring this project to fruition and to make it as good as it possibly can be.”

Anne Golden, General Manager at Pan Pacific London says, “PLP has earned a reputation for

developing award-winning projects and we are proud to be adding yet another iconic development to the London city skyline in a highly coveted location, which will raise the bar of integrated development and city living with unparalleled five-star hospitality services.

“With the goal of reinventing the hospitality landscape in the City, PLP Architecture’s creation, in collaboration with interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg, offers a distinct and compelling complex that synthesises local and international design inspiration, whilst extending and enhancing the character of The City’s business district.”

 

George Barnsdale

Founded in 1884, and still operating from the same site in Donington, Lincolnshire, George Barnsdale specialise in the supply and installation of high performance timber windows. These windows can be highly customised to meet conservation requirements or a specific design vision.

We take pride in our high-quality timber windows and doors, which accurately replicate traditional designs and provide very high performance and long life with low maintenance. Over the past 20 years we have significantly increased our involvement with large contract projects. Recently, this included the exciting Devonshire Row and 1 Bishopsgate Plaza development.

We were responsible for the timber sash windows, and shopfronts, plus the restoration of a listed shopfront. Managing Director Tom Wright explained:

“There was a shopfront on the East elevation of the building that was a listed part of Devonshire Row. Our responsibility was to not only refurbish the shopfront, but also replicate part of it that had previously been removed. It’s a very significant part of the build and gets a lot of attention. This restoration and replication was certainly a challenge, as it was an intricate and complicated piece of work. What we’ve produced really shows off our abilities and how we stand out.

“For the newer shopfronts, the planning requirements meant the designs had to be more complicated and intricate. There was a lot of work to ensure both the aesthetic and performance requirements were met.

“Working on projects as architecturally significant as 1 Bishopsgate alongside leading architects, contractors and developers feels like a real privilege and also gets the most of our skills and capabilities.”

To find out more, please visit www.georgebarnsdale.co.uk.

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Roma Publications