Living

Buile Hill Park Hotel

Brief

The mansion is a grade II listed building designed by Sir Charles Barry, set at the centre of Buile Hill Park in Salford. As part of the park's regeneration, the city council invited private sector developers to submit proposals for the mansion's renovation and comprehensive extension. Keppie was appointed by Godliman and Watson to develop a scheme for a four star hotel, including extensive leisure facilities. The project embodied significant challenges. The new building, to be economically sustainable, demanded approximately ninety bedrooms which had to sit alongside a listed structure. Furthermore, the act of construction within a public park would inevitably raise issues with the local community.

Response

Keppie undertook a series of consultations with interested parties such as conservation and community groups. Together with a rigorous analysis of the site, this helped us crystallise a response which essentially consisted of the design of an elegant but low profile building that did not compete with the historic grandeur of the adjacent mansion. Initial proposals were discussed and refined through a series of meetings with the client, English Heritage and included public exhibition and consultation.

Outcome

In order to minimise the visual impact of the new building we opted to separate the main hotel accommodation from the main mansion, which itself would be transformed into four luxury suites and bars. The topography of the site enabled most of the leisure, function and restaurant areas to be partially concealed below ground. This meant that from the major viewpoints within the park, the hotel appeared as simple bedroom wings merely two stories in height. Over one of these wings we placed a row of penthouse suites enveloped within a copper-clad scroll form. Car parking is again located at a lower level to reduce its impact on the park. Hotel elevations take their cue from the window rhythm of the existing building but expressed in a refined modern geometry. Textured brickwork and copper materials are robust, natural and sustainable.

Team