Member designs new London hotel

The new Ruby Lucy Hotel in Lower Marsh, London has started on site. Ruby Lucy is the first UK hotel by the successful Munich lifestyle boutique group Ruby Hotels. CIAT registered practice Studio Kyson brings the vision to life with a graceful new building that unites the streetscape.

The hotel comprises 80 bedrooms, with additional public spaces, restaurant and integrated street-level retail spaces with a building area of 3150 sqm. Located in the historic Lower Marsh area of Waterloo, London, Ruby Lucy promises to be a bright newcomer to the sector, as it brings its unique lean luxury philosophy to the urban hotel market.

Studio Kyson has approached the complex historical location with a robust concept that will be a compelling architectural addition to the area. The Ruby Lucy Hotel spans eight historic plots, which were most recently occupied by a low-rise post-War development. Studio Kyson’s ambition is to re-integrate the site into the streetscape, through modern architecture and established design principles. The intervention creates a perception of one building as many, in a contemporary interpretation of the traditional late Georgian parade. Individual identities have been created for each plot, yet the building works as one entity.

Lower Marsh was designated a conservation area in the mid 1980s, in recognition of its special character, and the practice has rigorously researched the historic fabric to inform their work.  The street is a naturally facetted route, made of kinks and twists that reflect the 18th and 19th Century terraces. Subtle variations in plot width, roof line and masonry combine to produce an idiosyncratic streetscape. 

The irregular rhythm of the streets’ patchwork of heights, widths and roofscapes is celebrated in Kyson’s design with a staggered, undulating profile. Elegant cut-outs keep the feel light at roof level, with slender fins perched atop solid masonry terraces, in turn punctuated by punched hole windows. This strong vertical emphasis, with each of the five-storey plots delineated, serves to create a bold yet harmonious addition to Lower Marsh. 

At street level the façade is a minimalist expression of traditional shop fronts, reintroducing those proportions and characteristics, which were lost post-War. Materially, handmade brickwork with subtle colour variation and irregular texture will sit comfortably alongside the neighbouring terraces’ weathered brickwork. Slight recesses reference the surrounds, mouldings and pediments of the neighbours, while the shadow gaps add to the textural feel.

Ruby Lucy’s entrance itself is defined by a delicate glass wall, and a lightweight version of the masonry terraces which flank it. Behind, this graceful triple height slot is overlooked by galleries that link the two neighbouring blocks. Interiors throughout the new buildings, as with all Ruby Hotels, will be designed by their own in-house specialist team of designers.

Practice director Scott Kyson MCIAT said; 'The challenge was to produce a contemporary space for Ruby Lucy Hotel London that would both embody their values and meet the complexities of a conversation site in central London. As a studio we’ve enjoyed creating what we believe will be an elegant solution, bound with contextual knowledge, classic design principles, and a crisp, modern aesthetic.'

'Ruby Lucy follows Ruby‘s Lean Luxury philosophy: a top location, high-quality room fittings, and genuine design. All of this is offered at an affordable price by rigorously cutting out the superfluous and focusing on the essential,' explains founder and CEO of Ruby Hotels, Michael Patrick Struck.

'This works because we accommodate luxury in a relatively condensed space, similar to yachts. We forego unnecessary services, which helps us create a luxurious and unique hotel experience at an affordable price.'