Hospitality chain Locke has expanded yet again in the London area, adding a fourth property in Bermondsey, a neighbourhood on the southern banks of the Thames. The new lodgings, aptly named Bermonds Locke, occupy part of a newly redeveloped mixed-use complex and sees an interior design by London-based architecture and design practice Holloway Li. Inspired by the dry planes of the Mojave Desert and the omnipresent Joshua Tree, the aesthetic features a series of unexpected hues and distinctive motifs which make the property stand out in the local hospitality landscape. The desert-inspired aesthetic of this 143-room property begins with a moonlit reception bathed in a glittering mirage created by overhead mirrors, inspired by The Weather Project by artist Ólafur Elíasson.
The lobby is in fact a hybrid space where to sit back, mingle with people or get some work done, and it’s designed as such, featuring swing chairs, fixed concrete banquette seating, suspended planters and open co-working spaces. Also to be found on the ground floor is restaurant with a sunny patio, allowing al fresco wining and dining when weather permits. An elongated terrazzo table, crafted from repurposed concrete testing tubes, is shaped into a bar frontage and is paired with repurposed steel rebar and clay bricks which form decorative ironwork and joinery elements throughout the space. The rooms at Bermonds Locke, or rather, apartments or studios, come in three categories, each meeting all tech requirements and comfort standards of today’s savvy traveller.
The apartment hotel’s signature functional living rooms on the upper floors are dipped in blue, beige and grey hues and saturated vibrant reds on the lower floors. The studios are furnished with bespoke modular sofas handmade using sand mixed with resin lay-up to recreate the desert’s tonality. Rough-sawn timber floors welcome a patina to be marked with steps trodden. Additionally, each studio is equipped with a fully functional kitchen and laundry facilities, giving guests the flexibility to live in each room undisturbed for anything from one night to three months. Capturing the psychedelic experience of Joshua Tree underpins the design narrative. An industrial process of zinc-passivation creates an iridescent rainbow finish that will be found on bar tops, wall paneling and echoed by fluted polarising glass sliding partitions in the rooms.
Bermonds Locke
157 Tower Bridge Road (Bermondsey)
London SE1 3LW
Telephone: +44 20 70527170
Publishers Note
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