Projects

A selection of projects we’re excited to explore in 2023.

01 c hancery h ouse , tog ( summer 2023)

Spanning 127,000 sq ft, Chancery House will be TOG’S biggest location to date. Designed by Norm Architects and dMFK, expect a soothing material palette, tactile furnishings and a home-like feel – plus a host of other practical and thoughtful design details that aim to improve the building’s acoustics, air quality and VOC emissions. dMFK is also working alongside landscape architects Spacehub to transform the building’s dormant car park into a bio-diverse urban garden.

02 1 W arWI ck s treet , f ett L e ( spring 2023)

The brainchild of Maslows, the team behind Mortimer House, new members club 1 Warwick Street will open in London this spring, with six floors of workspace designed by Fettle. Vintage furniture and an eclectic industrial design story will feature across the flexible workplace, restaurant and events space.

03 p a DDI ngton s quare , r enzo p I ano (2023)

Renzo Piano’s Paddington Square looks to finally open in 2023 – a complete regeneration of the station and surrounding area. The project will feature 16 floors of office space, a rooftop restaurant and bar, pavilion for restaurants, new retail space, landscaped piazza and a brand-new entrance for the Bakerloo line.

04 f actory I nternat I ona L , oma ( summer 2023)

The long-awaited Factory International arts and cultural centre will open in Manchester this year, welcoming its first visitors in June 2023. OMA’s first major public project in the UK, the concrete and corrugated metal building will offer multiple configurations, hosting a broad range of art forms from major exhibitions and large-scale concerts to immersive experiences.

05 m an Dar I n o r I enta L m ayfa I r ( spring 2023)

Spring 2023 will see the much-anticipated opening of Mandarin Oriental’s second premises in London, with architecture by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. On the historic Hanover Square, the property will offer a sanctuary-like experience, with 50 guestrooms, 78 private residences, an urban spa and the UK’s first restaurant by Michelin-star chef, Akira Back. Tokyo-based studio Curiosity is helming interiors.

06 s I x s enses r ome ( spring 2023)

‘La Dolce Vita’ is the mantra that sits behind Six Senses Rome. Expected to open in March, Italy’s first Six Senses will feature 96 guest rooms and suites. Surfaces are expected to be covered in cocciopesto plaster and travertine limestone, plus patterns and graphic design elements to complement suspended plants and natural lighting.

07 B roa DWI ck s oho ( summer 2023)

Renowned interior designer Martin Brudnizki will be launching his first London hotel, Broadwick Soho. Evoking Soho’s irreverent glamour, visitors can expect bold décor with bright prints and audacious patterns. The hotel is set to provide 57 residential-style rooms and nine suites, plus a penthouse. For food and drink, Broadwick will host a Sicilian-inspired restaurant, featuring an intimate dining room and terrace, as well as a wrap-around rooftop bar.

08 e m B er L ocke , k ens I ngton (J une 2023)

Lifestyle aparthotel brand Locke will open its doors to the public in Kensington from June 2023. Designed by Londonbased practice Atelier Ochre, alongside House of Dré, the interior will draw upon Art Deco as a nod to Kensington’s ‘golden age’ and the iconic Derry & Tom’s department store, which closed in 1973 after a century trading.

In a few weeks I’ll be heading to Cairo, a sprawl of some 10 million people. It’s most famed, of course, for the pyramids that skirt its edge; totems of a long-faded civilisation. At a time when, as a society, we’re fixated on what we’re leaving behind and what we’re carrying forward, some might say these architectural wonders are a fitting illustration that change – or progress – is both inevitable and unstoppable. Others would say that’s baloney.

It all depends, you see, on what we consider progress; on what we consider worthwhile change. The rise of video conferencing has been heralded as the greatest disruptor to human interaction since the telephone, or perhaps even the handshake – such is its present-day importance. During consecutive COVID lockdowns it fulfilled an impossible to predict, unequivocally essential service, not only within the world of work, but for the everyday. It gave us all the opportunity to see the solitary smile of a relative or partake in restricted group activities virtually –from birthday ‘gatherings’ to weekend quiz nights.

Yet when the world opened up, these regular digital encounters evaporated into the not-quite-so-virus-filled air, as smiles were shared over coffee, birthdays in smart restaurants and quiz nights at the local pub, be it country or corner. Analogue connections trumped online ones.

At work, the change has been less pronounced. Whether Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, video calling and conferencing is as omnipresent while ‘on the clock’ as email. The only difference is that, some of the time, we’re doing it from a desk or workplace meeting space,