The Stratford at Manhattan Loft Gardens

This July, The Stratford opens with interiors, bespoke furniture and accessories by Danish design studio Space Copenhagen. The Stratford is a hotel located within the new Manhattan Loft Gardens skyscraper, the ambitious new East London venture by Harry Handelsman, founder of Chiltern Firehouse and the restored St Pancras Hotel. The spectacular double-cantilevered 42-storey building is designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and situated in the upcoming cultural hub of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, East London.

Occupying the first seven stories of the building with 145 guestrooms and suites, The Stratford promises to combine world class design, hospitality and culture. The concept celebrates timeless glamour, future cityscapes and the notion of long-term residents of 1950s New York’s legendary Chelsea hotel.

Space Copenhagen has created the interior design concept for the building’s lobby, hotel guestrooms, mezzanine, the ground floor Stratford Brasserie, as well as 7th floor restaurant, Allegra. The public areas each have distinctive design characteristics but overall seek to interweave, allowing visitors to move seamlessly between the spaces. Gently textured plastered walls, natural oak in earthy tones, warm metals and natural stones framed by a polished and dark pigmented concrete floor, serve to softly contrast the strong modern structure of the tower itself.

Upon entering the building, the architectural experience on the ground floor pivots around a large nine-metre high fireplace that anchors the triple height lobby, providing a sophisticated and dramatic community space. Guests are then drawn towards the handcrafted reception desk, which is crafted in oak with darkened brass detailing and offset by sculptural lighting.

The spacious guestrooms are modern, intimate, comfortable and well-balanced, with floor-to-ceiling windows allowing generous light. Natural woods in different hues, warm metals and softly curved upholstered shapes complement each other. Stone-clad bathrooms with a serene ambience, heated floors, separate bathtubs and sculpted vanity mirrors offer supreme comfort. In all of the rooms Space Copenhagen has designed vanities and vanity mirrors, beds, bedside tables and desks exclusively for The Stratford. Besides their extensive bespoke work for the property, Space Copenhagen has included key furniture pieces from within their existing design portfolio in distinct upholstery and finishes for The Stratford from the likes of Gubi, Stellar Works and Benchmark.

Design: Space Copenhagen
Architect: SOM
Photography: Richard Stapleton