HIX & Co Present: Hotel BDC // Atellior x FlutterLab
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Marking our largest and most ambitious installation yet, HIX LDN 2024 will see Islington’s iconic Business Design Centre reimagined as a hotel experience by four leading hospitality design studios. Presented as a multimedia gallery within a dedicated space constructed by set-builders Cloud and Horse, each team’s vision is centred around a deep-dive report by heritage consultants Historic Productions, and celebrate the power of history, locality, and community in hotel design.
Ahead of the big reveal on 27 November, we sat down with each studio to hear more about their proposed concept and their approach to creating a sense of place. Next up is luxury hospitality and residential specialists Atellior, who have drawn from the BDC’s vibrant past as an entertainment and performance venue to create a theatrical concept that balances playful sensuality with holistic sustainability.
Here Executive Director Una Barac (UB) and her team (including Joe McCall, Ayla-Belma Hadžović, Jennifer Raderschadt, Marin Knežević and Karmen Nivić) talk us through their vision for FlutterLab
What does a sense of place mean to you as designers?
UB | ATELLIOR: I think it’s the spirit of a place; if you understand what it used to be and means to people who visit or live there, then you can draw a lot of inspiration from that. It’s facts and history, and everything that has happened there, yes, but it’s also how individual guests interpret it, which means there’s really no one correct answer. Each guest will bring their own experiences to the table and leave with different ideas, which can be very powerful. Design rooted in the local culture, history, and social fabric gives the space authenticity and a sense of belonging, and by reflecting the unique characteristics of a location, you create a connection that resonates with both residents and visitors, telling a story through design. In terms of the BDC, key aspect of the location we wanted to capture were the sense of entertainment that the building, Islington High Street and Upper Street have carried through the centuries to the present day. The idea is to evoke emotions and memories of decadence, entertainment, even escapism, but to do so responsibly, in a considerate, biophilic and sustainable manner.
What caught your eye in the historic productions report?
UB | ATELLIOR: One of the main takeaways was how the building evolved over time from an Agricultural Hall to become more of an entertainment space where great circuses and balls were held, so there’s this undercurrent of performance and theatricality that runs through the whole venue. A lot of the performances were based around horses and equestrianism, something that was depicted in paintings by Thérèse Lessore, the wife of Walter Sickert, both of whom were regular visitors of Islington Agriculture Hall, during its era of entertainment.
As an agricultural hall, people would come from as far as Scotland with their cattle to sell there, so it was a drawing point for the entire country. This area has a real, raw beauty about it – it might not be clean or glamorous, but it’s an essential need. We heard how farmers would spend the money they made at the auctions afterwards drinking on the High Street, so even beyond the BDC Islington has always had a strong association with hospitality and entertainment.
But even as it became more an entertainment venue, it was still in quite a gritty area, so when it began hosting performances and shows it was a ray of sunshine for people who worked six days a week in Victorian times just to feed their families. I think that really spoke to the joyous and pleasurable aspect of the building; it brought a lot of very hard-working people a lot of joy, and that’s something we really want to celebrate.
Tell us about your concept
UB | ATELLIOR: It embraces the allure of acrobatic and equestrian circus performances with a sophisticated combination of vibrant nostalgia and playful elegance. There are bold colour palettes, intricate patterns and ornate décor reminiscent of vintage fairgrounds that look to transport guests into a realm of wonder. Complementing these interior elements are flowing champagne waterfalls, which are a nod to Alberto Cavalcanti’s film ‘Champagne Charlie’ – based on the George Leybourne character who performed in the area – as well as the lively spirit and traditions of 19th century music halls. There’s also a biophilic dimension, so the hotel looks to foster a unique ecosystem, bringing together historical architecture with modern sustainability efforts.
The expansive glass roof overhead allows us to flood the interior with light and create the ideal environment for growing various plants. These plants are cultivated via a rainwater harvesting system that ensures a fresh, organic supply for the bar and restaurant – both of which are farm-to-table concepts, linking back to the agricultural legacy of the building. To take it a step further we would cultivate fauna, alongside flora. Fauna would be represented in butterflies, as they are a dynamic and live extension of the beautiful flora species, providing unique point of interest and a “draw” factor.
We’ve also thought about this biophilic aspect in terms of design, and how we can make this a very human-centric concept. It considers things like guests who have flown in from different time zones, and how they can adjust quicker to the new environment with help from elements like lighting and materiality. Alongside the guests we are also driven by the needs of the team of hosts, bar and waiting staff, chefs, and people who work in this hotel every day. You can spend an extraordinary amount on the architecture and interior fit-out, but it is the hotel team that make it a real success, because happy hospitality teams equate to happy and returning guests. In FlutterLab, much as in any of our hotels we place the importance on both guest and team needs, driven to create a perfect environment to sleep and relax in, to eat and drink, to work and play.
How does this translate into the design?
UB | ATELLIOR: Considerable parts of the BDC can be exposed to light thanks to the glazed roof, which made us think of places like Kew Garden and bringing the planting inside. The surface of the roof also allows for the rainwater collection system we’ve envisioned, to irrigate the planting. Another parallel we drew from the iconic Neo-Classical steel and glass structure is The Imperial Butterfly House in Vienna. And this is how the idea of FlutterLab came about.
The whole building is quite introverted, and because it’s a central city site with most of the site being taken up by the building footprint, there’s not much in the way of public realm. The vast space inside encouraged us to create the public realm and urban oasis within this iconic building. As both an exhibition and entertainment hall it was very much open to the public, and that’s something we’d like to maintain. This led us to positioning all the amenity spaces, including the landscape gardens and the swimming pool inside as opposed to arranging them around the exterior as one traditionally might, when masterplanning a resort.
In creating an “outside-in” urban resort, we are also creating a destination, not only for the staying guests, who come to London for work or pleasure, but for Londoners and local Islington residents to come, meet, drink, eat and much more. The main lounge, reception and restaurant are in the heart of the building, under the magnificent glass roof structure, and these amenities are nestled in lush landscape, enhanced with fluttering butterflies. Elsewhere, a central shallow water feature not only creates a focal point for the lounge, but aids with humidity levels, creating a pleasant environment for guests, team and butterfly alike. In the bar area, we’ve really been inspired by the Champagne Charlie-era, which is reflected in the circular bar and a theatrical centrepiece above. Meanwhile, the circus and general performance themes can be seen in the heavy red drapes that open to reveal this space.
Heavy drapes would also help in keeping the butterflies away from the bar and the restaurant, focusing on the finer details and practicalities of the F&B operations. We’ve created quite a dark and sensual scheme that is a little bit seductive but also holistic at the same time with all the daylight, rainwater harvesting, planting and butterflies, so it’s the crossover of these two (dark and light) ideas that we’re looking to explore with our design. The juxtaposition of a biophilic, self-sustainable micro-system with the evocative memories of Victorian Inns, notorious for social activities like drinking and gambling, paints a rich, layered narrative about the complexity of life.
FlutterLab by Atellior will be revealed alongside three other concepts at HIX LDN on 27 & 28 November as part of our signature installation project. Claim your free pass here and get a front row seat to the next chapter of hotel design.