London: Beaumont Hotel + ‘Room’ by Antony Gormley (UK)

Barely 2 blocks from Oxford Street in Mayfair, London is the Beaumont Hotel. The original building, designed in 1935 by Wimperis and Simpson, was formerly the Macy’s Garage, and became a Grade II listed building in 2009.

The rich, restrained refurbishment, completed in 2014 for Corbin & King, is by Richmond International. However the most intriguing and striking part of the new hotel is ‘ROOM’ an installation by Antony Gormley. Looking like one of his block composition sculptures for a seated figure at a monumental scale, it is both an artwork and a luxury suite.

The entry, living area and bathroom of the suite are all within the fabric of the original building, with a staircase rising up to the bedroom located within the Gormley addition. While clad externally in stainless steel, internally it is a dark, moody space of only 4 square metres that rises 10m high. With minimal lighting and rich dark brown timber on the walls and ceiling, Gormley has written about his desire to create ‘a retreat, a place of peace, with a feeling of being fully enclosed but not cut off from outside.’ It is a dark, cave-like space truly allowing you to retreat from the outside world, although a pair of large windows can be opened over the bed should one want to look out at the sky or just let in some natural light.

While I was given a tour of the room by the kind hotel staff, I was not allowed to photograph the interior. To see that you will have to visit the Beaumont Hotel website or the Antony Gormley website or perhaps even go and stay there.