Located where Marylebone, Mayfair and Soho meet, The BoTree, designed by EPR Architects, captures the village-like feel of Marylebone, the chic of Mayfair and the vibrancy of Soho.
With a focus on personalised service, the vibrant new build hotel comprises 199 guestrooms, including 30 contemporary suites. Exemplifying world-class living, stylish interiors designed by Amsterdam-based designers Concrete, bring together colourful, natural fabrics with eclectic textures. Additional highlights include a destination restaurant, bars, and a diverse range of event spaces such as a private cinema screening room, an event space and a fitness centre.
The site was previously home to Welbeck Street car park, which had staggered internal floor plates that posed challenges for re-use and a load-bearing external façade that made adaptive reuse unviable. Therefore, EPR proposed an alternative adaptable new building with a long lifespan and sustainable credentials. Committed to Conscious Luxury, The BoTree is on a journey to make considered choices that take into account people, place and planet. One such example is the hotel’s BREEAM Rating of Excellent.
Standing proudly upon the intersection of three thoroughfares – Welbeck Street, Henrietta Place and Marylebone Lane, The BoTree’s exterior has been meticulously designed to harmonize with its immediate surroundings and respond to each street’s unique characteristics.
Notably, the Marylebone Lane elevation embraces the street’s smaller-scale architectural format, seamlessly blending traditional materials such as Michelmersh’s instantly recognisable Black Smooth brick with elegant, eye-catching bronze accents. A total of 30,000 Black Smooth bricks, complemented by 15,000 Brick Specials, supplied by LBT Brick and Facades, have been carefully selected and placed to enhance the building’s visual appeal. The delicate detailing of the smooth bricks complements the streetscape and provides a dramatic backdrop for the luxurious bronze window boxes. Meanwhile, the staggered saw-tooth bricks form a dynamic pattern and offer a varied interplay of shadows depending on the position of the sun. Together with a dark mortar, they also help to disguise façade panel joints, creating a seamless and elegant elevation.
The project uses FabSpeed’s efficiency-improving pro-clad panels manufactured by Skonto Plan to reduce impact during construction and to allow for meticulous offsite construction.
In contrast, the architectural language on Welbeck Street is much larger in scale and consequently, the design on this side of the building celebrates the street’s robust solid materials by using concrete and reconstituted stone. Both façades innovatively integrate projecting glass bay windows to evoke the rhythm of their respective streetscapes and offer guests unparalleled views across the city.
The striking bronze lattice that scales the full height of the hotel, surrounding The BoTree’s entrance is another key architectural moment for the hotel. Adorned with delicate flowers and lush greenery, the landmark lattice entrance perfectly embodied the essence of the hotel – blending Marylebone flair, Mayfair chic and Soho vibrancy. On ground level, bronze twisting fins are drawn back like a curtain to reveal a welcoming entrance. Continuing up the façade, they create an elegant veil to the generous balconies of the hotel’s luxurious corner suites.
