Inside Festival 2015: architect Jason Flanagan discusses how his practice Flanagan Lawrence transformed the Grade II-listed Shepherd's Bush Pavilion cinema in London into a four-star hotel (+ movie).
Flanagan Lawrence's Shepherd's Bush Pavilion Hotel won the Creative Re-use category at Inside Festival 2015.
The project is a renovation of an abandoned 1923 London cinema, originally by architect Frank Verity, which Flanagan Lawrence converted into a 320-bed, four-star hotel for Hong Kong-based hotel chain Dorsett.
"By the mid 2000s the cinema was derelict and unused," explains Flanagan in the movie, which was filmed for Inside Festival in Singapore.
"The challenge for us was to translate the existing envelope of the cinema, which is made of brick and concrete, into a hotel with light and views in all of the bedrooms."
Flanagan Lawrence kept the ground-level brick facade of the cinema, but rebuilt the upper volumes of the building with more transparent materials.
"We retained the principle facades, that were listed," Flanagan says. "But we rebuilt the upper parts of the cinema's enclosure in glass and terracotta."
The glazed structure maintains the curved profile of the original building, while allowing light to stream into both the bedrooms and a central atrium that runs through the full height of the hotel.
Lined with wood and gold acoustic panelling, the atmosphere of the atrium space changes dramatically as day turns to night.
"If you arrive first thing in the morning, the space is day-lit," Flanagan says.
"But gradually, as you come to dusk, the acoustic panels themselves start to glow from within and eventually the whole space becomes very immersive. It's like being inside a large golden chandelier."
The foyer and reception areas on the ground floor, which lead into the atrium, are also lined with wood and gold panelling, and feature curved roof vaults and large coffers in the ceiling.
"There are references back to the 1920s in some of the architectural forms of the interior, but also the use of colour and warmth, with an awful lot of gold, recessed lighting, and brilliant dark timber wall panelling," Flanagan says.
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"It gives that reference back to the Art Deco glamour of the building."
This movie was produced by Dezeen for Inside Festival. It was filmed at Inside Festival 2015 in Singapore.
Inside Festival 2015 took place in Singapore from 4 to 6 November, alongside partner event World Architecture Festival. Dezeen is media partner for both events and will be publishing more video interviews with the category winners over the coming weeks.