The Standard London

The company I recently started working for mainly focuses on hospitality design. The scale of the projects and ways of working are whole new worlds for me.

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After two interviews and a provided visit to the office, getting to know the work environment, we set a trial day. Just when I thought everything was settled, I received an email from my boss. He seemed to sense that I could only afford to stay in hostels or Airbnb; he then listed 11 luxurious hotels in London for me to visit and share with my colleagues on the trial day. Since this is an exciting, though nervous, experience, I would like to share some of my observations.

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I want to start by sharing my favorite boutique hotel from this trip, The Standard London. The first two Standard Hotels, which have now closed due to the pandemic, were born in West Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, California. In 2006, they expanded to Miami, with a new location centered around spa and hydrotherapy. However, what made The Standard most famous was The Standard High Line, built in 2008 on the High Line in New York City. It was the first new construction designed by The Standard rather than a renovation of an old building. The design resembles an open book, with a bottom floor that spans over the High Line, an old elevated railway that has now been reactivated into a linear urban park. The hotel's ground floor is 17 meters high from the floor level, which is so distinctive back then. Although I would also like to introduce this building, which perfectly embodies the five points of architecture by Le Corbusier and even next to the Little Island designed by Heatherwick Studio, which I really want to visit! I'll save that for another time when I revisit the High Line!

*The Standard High Line, New York. Photography: The Standard High Line*

*Little Island by Heatherwick Studio. Photograph: Timothy Schenck*

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If you pass by King Cross St. Pancras station in London, the brutalist building with the red capsule elevator that faces it is The Standard London. It was originally the town hall annex of Camden Council. Because of its cement and cold exterior, a group of people advocated for its demolition after Camden Council moved out. Fortunately, this generation has re-appreciated brutalism. As well as the three-story stainless cladding structure rooftop extension, façade renovation, and structural reinforcement by the Orms architecture firm, the internal structure and partition changes from the Archer Humphryes Architects firm, and the playful FF&E design by the interior design company Shawn Hausman Design that has a long-term collaboration with The Standard, The Standard London has become a strong contrast with the surrounding classical buildings, with avant-garde, whimsical, and playful styles, while still maintaining an atmosphere corresponding to the building age.

The Standard London with the capsule-like shuttle lift to the roof-top bar. Photograph: Orms

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Luxury London, an independent media specializing in luxury experiences, once described The Standard London as "Stanley Kubrick through the colour lens of Wes Anderson." When I walk into The Standard, there is a déjà vu like entering the Barbican Center*. Both have a cement texture as their body, but the interior presents the space age design that was also popular in the post-World War II period. The interior uses diverse polymers and metals, organic shapes, and bold color choices, forming this surreal and immersive experience.

*Barbican is a famous Brutalism architectural complex built after World War II in East London. The ground level is a parking lot, while the entire neighborhood is built above. The community comprises a library, an art center, an urban conservatory, several schools, cinemas, gardens, and more, creating a commensal ecosystem.

image1-2 Barbican Centre garden and structure. Photograph: Barbara Cilliers

image3 Barbican Centre foyer circa in 1980. Photograph: Barbican Centre

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Here are some concepts and details I like about The Standard London. The ground floor still retains the original Camden City Hall library. It has now been transformed into a mid-century modern-style working cafe, which is worth a try for those who live around the King Cross area and need a place to work. The friendly tour guide is a UAL alumnus. He mentioned that music is a crucial element for The Standard London as a recording studio is located in a corner next to the library. It serves as a live performance avenue open to the public and a space for renting to produce podcasts. Musical elements can also be found from the switches and control valves in guest rooms that resemble the ones on the radio, the transition doors that mimic the recording studio doors, to the layout of the Queen's Queen room that appears like a DJ booth. If given the chance (and money), it would be great to have a staycation there.