The Westferry Hotel has been designed by London architects StudioBG for UK based developer The Aitch Group.

The mid-market hotel will be one of the closest to the London 2012 Olympic Park, located on the northern fringe of Canary Wharf.  It consists of two inter-connected buildings, one rising to 53 metres, linked by a series of glass walkways.

"The site, a major gateway to Canary Wharf, required a high quality landmark design," says Bernard Lee, founding partner of StudioBG.  We opted for a highly contemporary building of glass, bronze and copper, topped with an iconic light box to provide a beacon for the location.  Our design also addresses the public realm problems around the hotel by creating a new public thoroughfare with a café and bar through the site, strengthening pedestrian links to the nearby Westferry Docklands Light Rail station’,

The hotel facilities include 252-bedrooms, which includes 56 executive rooms, 140-cover restaurant, exhibition and business centre space, gymnasium and bar.

The Aitch Group was attracted to developing a hotel in this location because it is ideally placed to exploit the future demand for hotel rooms generated by the 2012 Olympic Games and its legacy and the huge growth planned for the Canary Wharf District.

The Canary Wharf business district currently employs 90,000 people with the numbers expect to rise over the next 15 years by 120,000. Local attractions such as the O2 venue and ExCeL exhibition centre add further pressure to the demand for quality hotel rooms.

‘London’s hotel market is one of the highest performers in Europe, and despite the economic downturn, demand for hotel rooms is expected to continue to grow.  This location is perfectly placed to exploit the huge growth planned for the Canary Wharf district and the 2012 Olympics" added David Samson of the Aitch Group.

Work is expected to start on site this year.

www.studiobguk.com;

www.aitchgroup.co.uk