The Birch Selsdon Hotel is only 30 minutes from the center of London, yet it gives you the full experience of being immersed in English nature. The secret is the 200-acre Selsdon Historical Conservation Park, which, nevertheless, belongs to one of the metropolitan areas. The 19th-century Gothic mansion that occupied the hotel was converted into a hotel back in the 1920s but has only just been given a new look thanks to a purchase by the Birch chain.
Birch Selsdon with 181 rooms opened its doors this spring. Alessio Nardi and Lukas Persakovas from London studio A-nrd were invited to work on the project. Designers restored the estate’s public spaces, including the lobby, greenhouse, bars, and restaurants, and designed a co-working area and conference rooms.
The hotel invites guests to discover an authentic experience: it has a pottery workshop, a printing workshop, a reading room, tennis courts, jogging and cycling trails, and a wellness center. There are also two farmhouse restaurants and three bars for visitors.
Alessio and Lucas strived to remain faithful to the original project throughout, despite the fact that many details were lost during previous transformations. In an effort to turn back the clock, the project team carefully worked to get rid of artificial elements and restore the original features of the building, reusing and adapting materials in line with the sustainable design concept that the studio is committed to.
And yet, not all parts are completely original. The designers drew inspiration from the history of the building, bringing a modern touch to the Victorian setting, replacing traditional tiles with new terracotta tiles, and adding a 13-meter-high stained-glass window above the stairs with a 13-meter light sculpture and decorative bas-relief on the ceiling.
In addition, the hotel was filled with custom-made furniture and artwork from Michael Ruh Studio, The Yarn Collective, Ollie Fathers, Chelsea Vivash, Veronica Marianne, Laurie Maun, and other authors and collectives.
Alessio and Lucas also brought in designer Sebastian Cox to work on the landscaping. Trees cut down during the park’s thinning have been used as material for the reception desk, dining room chairs, communal co-working tables, and bedside tables in the hotel rooms.
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