London is calling! Step inside the lobby of the London EDITION hotel and it’s easy to see why it was a favored social venue among London’s elite in the early 1900s. A landmark structure formerly known as the Berners Hotel, its grand interiors—marble walls and floors, ornate balustrades, and richly carved moldings—served as a fitting backdrop to the gatherings of King Edward VII, Peter Carl Fabergé, and other luminaries who frequented the hotel at the turn of the last century, when its reputation was at its peak.
Today, however, thanks to the conceptual acumen of visionary hotelier Ian Schrager and an interior revamp by design firm Yabu Pushelberg, the hotel now attracts a broader swath of habitués.
See also: Gramercy Park Hotel by Ian Schrager
“It’s as appealing to a middle-aged tourist as it is to an international fashionista or a local teenager with tattoos,” says Pushelberg, who collaborated with Schrager’s design team to inject the hotel with shots of contemporary zip while preserving the best of its original character.
“It was important to restore the ornate public spaces, but also to add a layer of modernity with furnishings and art as a juxtaposition to the traditional frame,” Pushelberg says. “Mixing new elements into the aesthetic palette allows people to appreciate the original structure without feeling like they’re in a museum and keeps the audience from being narrowed.”
- Designers: Yabu Pushelberg with Ian Schrager Company
- Architects: Shepherd Construction with Denton Coker Marshall
- Client: Ian Schrager/Marriott International
- Where: London
- What: Seven-floor hotel
- Cost/sf: Withheld at client’s request
