Archer Humphryes / Brooklands - The Peninsular London
Almost a decade in the making, the final result is an example of vintage luxury and thrilling craftsmanship.
Words By Pamela Buxton
Images By Taran Wilkhu
CONCORDE, VINTAGE MOTORCARS, a lift inspired by a hot air balloon basket – a visit to Archer Humphryes’ latest hotel bar and restaurant, Brooklands, is a thrillingly designed concoction of nostalgic narrative, luxury and craftsmanship.
It’s been ten years since the practice completed the Chiltern Firehouse, the André Balazs hotel and celebrity hangout in London’s Marylebone. Since then, it’s designed a string of other notable hotels and venues including The Standard hotel at King’s Cross (with Shawn Hausman) and the revival of Koko in Camden.
Brooklands takes its inspiration from the technological and engineering ingenuity of classic cars and mechanical marvels such as the Concorde. The design is meant to draw not only the eye, but the hand as well, providing a tactile experience that is true to the intellectual and creative inspiration behind the hotel bar
Unlike those three projects, which all extended – and in the case of Chiltern Firehouse and The Standard, repurposed – buildings with distinct existing characters, Brooklands is situated in a brand new building, The Peninsular London hotel close to Hyde Park Corner. Designed by Hopkins Architects with interiors by Peter Marino, the building incorporates 190 guest rooms and 25 luxury residences. Archer Humphryes’ Brooklands is on the eighth floor, opening onto a terrace with views over Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and beyond.
The client demanded that all the details paying homage to vintage racing cars and the Concorde jet be accurate
The practice worked for eight years on the project, which reflects the passion for vintage racing cars of Sir Michael Kadoorie, chair of The Peninsula London owner Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. The brief specified the theme of Brooklands, the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit (in 1907) in Weybridge, Surrey. Brooklands was also an aircraft production site with a major role in the development of Concorde in the 1970s, and now hosts a restored Concorde plane. From this heritage emerged commonalities such as fluid movement, speed and the glamour of travel – whether Art Deco racing cars or supersonic aviation. The aim was to also celebrate the innovative technology that enabled what Archer calls these ‘extraordinary objects of ingenuity’.
Brooklands takes its inspiration from the technological and engineering ingenuity of classic cars and mechanical marvels such as the Concorde. The design is meant to draw not only the eye, but the hand as well, providing a tactile experience that is true to the intellectual and creative inspiration behind the hotel bar
After immersing themselves in the archives at Brooklands, Archer Humphryes has certainly taken these themes and run with them to the max, right down to the Concorde-inspired details in the toilets. But while the client was adamant that references were accurate – those in the know will appreciate the authenticity of details inspired by certain classic cars or aircraft components – perhaps the bigger challenge was marshalling both literal and abstract references into a cohesive design. And this it achieves with some verve. Anyone, vintage car buff, Concorde fan or not, can enjoy the abundance of tactile, crafted luxury with so much to draw not only the eye, but the hand.
Brooklands takes its inspiration from the technological and engineering ingenuity of classic cars and mechanical marvels such as the Concorde. The design is meant to draw not only the eye, but the hand as well, providing a tactile experience that is true to the intellectual and creative inspiration behind the hotel bar
And also, says Humphryes, ‘It’s fun’. This is particularly clear in the incorporation of indicator levers inspired by those on vintage car dashboards into banquette seating in the lounge area of the bar – move the indicator to get the attention of bar staff without having to get up and walk over to the bar.
Brooklands takes its inspiration from the technological and engineering ingenuity of classic cars and mechanical marvels such as the Concorde. The design is meant to draw not only the eye, but the hand as well, providing a tactile experience that is true to the intellectual and creative inspiration behind the hotel bar
The Brooklands bar and restaurant experience starts down on the ground floor, where a display including Napier Railton car known for breaking speed records at Brooklands, an original Concorde nose cone and a Pathé racing film acts as a taster for what’s in store. First, there’s a trip up in a dedicated lift featuring a woven willow interior inspired by vintage hot air balloon baskets – the lift light is inspired by a balloon burner.
Brooklands takes its inspiration from the technological and engineering ingenuity of classic cars and mechanical marvels such as the Concorde. The design is meant to draw not only the eye, but the hand as well, providing a tactile experience that is true to the intellectual and creative inspiration behind the hotel bar
Eight floors up, the lift opens onto an elliptical lobby with aluminium wall panelling and red ceiling. This space is awash with telling details, including flush rivets inspired by those of a Concorde Rolls-Royce Olympus engine cowling, and as such is a good prelude to the most spectacular space, the Brooklands Bar. Here, the eye is drawn in all directions. Above is a dramatic, red ceiling inspired by the basket weave structure of a geodetic fuselage on a Vickers Welling bomber. This presides over a petal-shaped bar with fascias from the bodywork of a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. Counter lights are created from Lucas Racing Lights with a central chandelier made from blades from a Concorde Olympus 593 Turbine. Walls are leather panelled, with seating a combination of pieces inspired by Rolls-Royce and Bentley car interiors and bodywork, designs by Humphryes and design classics. Artwork further references the Brooklands heritage.
The painstakingly crafted Art Deco interiors and exquisite lighting provide a luxurious setting for socialising as well as conducting business
At the end of the bar is the Napier Railton Room, a small but glamorous entertaining space encased in gleaming aluminium inspired by the bodywork of the car. Cream leather upholstered furniture and classic luggage trunks further evoke the glamour of travel from a bygone era. There are two further bijou spaces dedicated to cigars and smoking off the lift lobby. A walk-in tabac/humidor has joinery inspired by the mahogany and brass rivets of early cars, and houses artfully displayed collections of connoisseur cigars. Nearby, a tasting room is another stylish, Art Deco infused space, with leather and okoume timber panelling and rosewood and sycamore marquetry.
Humphryes particularly likes the view through the various linking circulation spaces from the bar to the restaurant, reached in the other direction from the lift lobby. Dining guests first pass through a circular trophy room with marquetry walls depicting scenes from Brooklands races, and badges from iconic car brands.
Classy touches, such as a walk-in humidor, provide a sense of sophistication to the ambience of the hotel bar
Sleek and bold, the dining room itself, says David Archer, is quite futuristic compared with those of most grand hotels. The design inspiration is Concorde with a gleaming model of a Concorde stretching 13.6m long above the dining table. For this, Humphryes worked from the original hand drawings in the Brooklands Museum and Air France archives, with the undercarriage modelled from a 3D scan. The bespoke carpets depict a map of the night sky across Concorde’s route, and ribbed walls to suggest the wave path of the flying plane. A private dining room is modelled in sycamore wood inspired by a section of Concorde fuselage.
To some, the idea of a restaurant and bar inspired by a historic motor-racing track and aircraft engineering centre in Surrey may seem a little incongruous in the heart of London. But at Brooklands, Humphryes goes for it full throttle, and pulls it off in style.
