Bear Gardens

A 75-room boutique aparthotel created by SPPARC from three 19th-century warehouses in the Bear Gardens conservation area, Bankside. The eight-storey scheme links and adapts the buildings into a contemporary urban hospitality offer while retaining the original facade and the medieval courtyard street pattern at the front.

Originally home to E. Newman & Sons, makers of card patterns for weaving looms, the architectural language draws on the industrial heritage of the area. Lower floors combine board-formed concrete and exposed brick with original-style arched metal-framed windows. The upper floors are lighter, mixing clear and obscure floor-to-ceiling glazing with bronze circular rods that set a strong rhythm to the facade. The Rose Alley elevation has perforated bronze screens referencing the loom patterns once made on site.

The BREEAM Excellent-rated aparthotel has a double-height foyer, a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, 24-hour concierge, gym, pantry and co-working. Ground floor mixed-use space provides accommodation for the nearby Globe Theatre (directly linked to their Sackler Education Building) and Bell English Language School.

Delivered with Macro Investments and Native. Photography by Ed Reeve.