Manhattan Loft Gardens
Location London, UK | Client Manhattan Loft Corporation | Size 2,000m2 | Status completed 2018 | Tags Mixed use and residential | Photography Ed Reeves, Oliver Douglas
MSP designed exterior spaces on levels 7, 25 and 34 for this hotel and residential development.
The roof terrace at the top of the building, level 34, provides spectacular views across the city of London.
Our design references alpine mountains, with pine trees and alpine plants which cope well with the exposed and windy conditions. Timber flooring, raised planters to create ‘rocky’ escarpments, and timber ‘lodges’ which provide shelters, complete the effect and encourage a sense of community for the residents.
At level 25 the residents’ private terrace is finished with timber throughout to reflect the architectural facades. The high-end décor, floors, screens, seats give the atmosphere of a ship’s deck, with the wood providing natural warmth.
Level 7 is a public space for both hotel guests and residents. Corten ‘leaf’ planters create intimate spaces, planted with multi-stemmed Rhus typhina (staghorn sumach) trees which provide shade and protect the area from the wind. Coppery coloured floor tiles blend with the warm tones of the corten steel. As well as the relaxing areas, there is a playground with a timber stack of ‘leaf’ forms for climbing, animated with yellow play sticks.
The terraces use materials that are durable, robust and sensibly sourced, and the design encourages activities throughout year.
The Manhattan Loft Gardens are very near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and the landscape terrraces offer a link for birds and insects between other green spaces in the area and the Olympic Park.
The hotel and residential development has 145 hotel rooms in the first seven floors, and 248 private apartments in the remainder of the 34 floors. Its highly visible location is immediately north-east of Stratford International Station, looking out over the Channel Tunnel Rail Link railway tracks.