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:: Panoramic Views
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In 1939 over 40% of British industry was based in the capital. The goods that were manufactured were sent out from London’s docks, and as the biggest port in Europe at the time much of England’s foodstuffs came in this way too. Largely built at the beginning of the 19th century the Georgian warehouses suffered badly in the last little local disagreement with our German friends, the wharehoused stocks of sugar, wines and spirits and other goods making a volatile and highly combustible mix that burned for days once firebombed.
To the eternal shame of the local authorities the last bomb site in London was not built over until the 1990’s and it took dramatic intervention from central government to force the regeneration of Docklands. Transformed over the last twenty years, the area is now one of the most vibrant and busy parts of London, with new transport routes in the form of the Docklands Light Railway (the DLR) and underground rail services (the Tube), as well as its own city Airport (now handling in excess of 2.5 million passengers a year).
The old docks now form a series of water areas almost akin to the canals of Venice but without the threat of flooding as they are separated from the tidal reaches of the Thames by a series of locks. The standing water provides berths for houseboats, a floating church and for recreational activities such as sailing and canoeing. Surrounded by some of the tallest buildings in Europe the area has become a new financial and residential area, with now over 200 shops, restaurants, bars and Museums only ten minutes ride from the West End on the tube, and home to many thousands of people.
In the striking architectural surroundings of West Quay stands the new ‘skyscraper’ block that is the Marriott Hotel and Suites. A strong architectural statement the building lines up with the some of the few original warehouses to survive the twin scourges of the war and developers in a pleasant quayside environment. Almost next door is the DLR station and the tube is only a five minute walk on the other side of the Quay, so it has excellent links both to the theatre district, national museums and airports.
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| Reception is dominated by the light - of the skylight above, the large illumiunated glass panels behind the reception desk and the reflections off the etched glass panels and the tiled floor. The effect is of clean and sumptuous spaces, contemporary but comfortable. Rollover to see the view from the front of the hotel |
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| From the route to Reception it is possible to see the entrance lobby to the function area. Rollover for the entrance and concierge desk. |
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The striking entrance hall puts the reception desk at first floor and the staircase up from the front door makes one aware, looking upwards, of the building towering above and seen through the large roof light. This creates a strong sense of theatre on entry and designers Richmond International have cleverly used the time honoured device of openings though the boundaries of the space to give the arriving guest tantalising glimpses of the other public areas.
Because of the nature of the dock levels the first floor is actually at the same level as the Quayside, so here too are located the bar and restaurant, the latter in particular having stunning views across the docks to the modern buildings beyond. Part of the drama of the view is the sight of the DLR disappearing into the side of the buildings on the opposite side of the dock. The quayside frontage of the hotel is sharply curved giving some interesting internal spaces both within the restaurant area and the bedrooms on the floors above.The views are quite spectacular with some bedrooms looking out across the city to the Stock Exchange, whilst the other side of the building looks towards the infamous Dome and the scattering of cranes that marks the constant expansion eastwards of the Docklands developments.
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