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With his Soho House empire, Nick Jones (above) redefined how we want to get cosy. And now he’s recommissioned Television Centre in White City by chanelling its mid-century genius. Jessica Doyle visits. Photographs by Michael Sinclair
Soho House takes over Television Centre
The opening of a new Soho House venue always makes waves in the design world. Access to its bars and lounges might be reserved for members, but its eclectic, home-from-home style has filtered through into interiors trends since the first house opened in 1995. Indeed, the recent penchant for rustic reclaimed wood panelling can be attributed at least in part to the opening of its Cotswolds outpost, Soho Farmhouse, in 2015. The launch of its Soho Home interiors line in 2016 then made exclusivity accessible, allowing members and non-members alike to bring home a bit of Soho House style, in the form of a battered leather club chair, a cashmere blanket or cut-crystal negroni glass.
With its new White City club in the former BBC headquarters in west London, which opened earlier this week, the group has taken a new design direction. Each of its houses has its own look – an updated Georgian town house at the original Soho House in Greek Street; industrial loft style at Shoreditch House in east London – but White City is its first foray into mid-century styling. Working on the 1960s structure and a new-build annex was a first for the design team, and added to that was the unique status of Television Centre. As the setting for long-running BBC programmes such as Doctor Who, Blue Peter and Top of the Pops, it elicits an emotional response even in those who have never seen it in real life.
‘We’d always wanted to do a Soho House in west London, so when White City became available it was just obvious,’ says Nick Jones, the group’s founder. ‘There’s so much history here – all those shows; it was a TV factory. It’s a slightly different feel for us, going ’60s contemporary. We’ve had such fun with the references.’
The Grade Ii-listed Helios building, its central ring nicknamed ‘the doughnut’ by BBC staff, is the location for 45 bedrooms and a gym; design director Linda Boronkay took care to replicate period elements such as the fluted timber panelling and flat veneer surfaces, and exposed the original concrete beams supporting the ceilings.
The rest of the club, including the ground-floor public lounge, the members’ areas and rooftop pool, is in the new-build part of the development, where the designers could incorporate 1950s and ’60s design features in a more streamlined way. ‘We just went for it, using architectural elements inspired by the building and iconic BBC programmes,’ says Boronkay, ‘but in a subtle, not too obvious way. It was very important for us that we were not creating a pastiche or something gimmicky.’
Visitors to the ground-floor Allis lounge, for example, might notice the LED lights inset into the L-shaped bar – a reference to the ‘atomic dots’ that adorn the brick façade of Studio 1.
‘We used a lot of blue, we were very inspired by Blue Peter’
Meanwhile, a ride in the club’s lift, with its circular wood panelling, might stir up memories of the Tardis. Elsewhere, the eighth-floor function space is partly inspired by pictures of the BBC canteen, and has a poured-resin floor that recalls past ‘shiny-floor shows’ – light-entertainment programmes so-named due to the temporary flooring laid down in the studio for filming. Artists were commissioned to reinterpret elements from classic programmes – Play School’s round, square and arched windows make an appearance in neon on the ninth floor, and an artwork in the ground-floor bar reimagines the BBC test card in glass. Other references are rather more abstract: ‘We used a lot of blue, we were very inspired by Blue Peter,’ says Boronkay.
Yet, the aim was not to create a nostalgia fest, but a stylish space that feels current and relevant. On-trend terrazzo was a key way of connecting period elements with modern styling, and can be found on tabletops, covering the floor
of the rooftop area and reflected in the pattern of the carpet in the hotel corridors. Fabrics by Tibor, a brand that once designed patterns for the BBC, have been used once more, on upholstery and cushions.
Vintage furniture and lamps can be found in the bedrooms and public spaces, and are complemented by custom-designed pieces with mid-century elements but more contemporary proportions. Even Formica, a material not often associated with a high-end aesthetic, has been made into bedside tables and backstage-style dressing tables with light-bulb-studded mirrors.
The mid-century look can feel a little sparse, but here it has been given an injection of glamour with velvet upholstery, burnished metal, oversize lighting and the odd hit of splashy pattern.
A homeware collection inspired by White City is in the pipeline for early June and will feature furniture, textiles and accessories in ’60s-style shapes and materials. Expect wood veneers, metal detailing and – who knows? – perhaps a Formica revival.