NEW BEGINNING

Prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, Stratford was a low-lying marshland in East London. The construction of massive sports venues has since transformed the area, which now features one of the largest shopping malls in London (the Westfield Stratford City), as well as serene spaces by the river. The Stratford, a project by Manhattan Loft Corporation—also the company behind the Chiltern Firehouse and St Pancras Renaissance Hotel—is one of its most recent additions. It comprises the namesake hotel and a collection of rental loft apartments.

Housed in a skyscraper designed by SOM, the creative mind behind One World Trade Center, The Stratford Hotel has 145 rooms within six storeys in the 135m-tall building. “We wanted to create a place for dwelling, socialising, working and entertaining, all within the boundaries of the structure,” shares Space Copenhagen, the Danish design studio enlisted to craft its interiors.

The firm introduced a softer, warmer palette of materials designed to balance the modern and masculine form of the architecture, thus creating rooms that feel intimate, contemporary and serene. A mix of natural wood in different tones, metals in warm hues, textured plaster walls and curved upholstered seats add to its cosy ambience; a sprightly combination of coral and blue tones livens up these spaces. thestratford.com