The Chamberlain Hotel Wins the eco award at The Brit List 2020
We are delighted to announce that The Chamberlain hotel, designed by Sibley Grove, has won the Eco Award at the Brit List Awards 2020.
The hotel ground floor includes a stunning bar and restaurant, with a slick, modern interior. The stripped back architecture creates height and volume, while adaptations to the façade allow natural light to flood the internal spaces. The hotel reception is a fresh, vibrant space, with an eclectic range of furniture creating zones to relax, grab a coffee or to hold an informal meeting. But, the most significant change is the creation of a brand-new cocktail bar, set deep within the exposed underbelly of The Chamberlain. A luxurious interpretation of an industrial basement bar – a hideaway from the busy London streets.
Approach
The first step with The Chamberlain was to avoid following trends. Instead, the studio took guidance and inspiration for interior spaces from the architecture, the history of the building and it's cultural setting – both past and present. By using this approach, as well as materials from environmental and ethical sources, the spaces can remain relevant for years to come.
‘Trends come and go, and when they go, businesses feel compelled to refresh their image, discarding items which are perfectly functional, but aesthetically obsolete. It's not a sensible environmental strategy.’
- Jeremy Grove
The studio has a unique approach to design, assessing the environmental and social impact of every design decision, from the origin of the materials, to where they end up at the end of their product life cycle.
The design industry is built upon a linear system of consumption, where manufacturers convert virgin material into unrecyclable products. This is a systemic problem. Inevitably, the materials are discarded into landfill or incinerators at the end of their useable life, creating enormous amounts of waste and pollution.
Sibley Grove adopts a circular approach to design, rather than following the linear system of consumption and waste that plagues the design industry. It means considering the entire lifecycle of a product, ensuring materials are used again and again or integrated back into the natural world through decomposition. Designing in a circular way reduces demand on resources, reduces landfill, and incentivises the production of clean, reusable materials.
In The Chamberlain, the ceilings use Troldtekt acoustic panels, a biological material made from 100% natural material and FSC timber. It achieves high levels of technical performance in use, but crucially it can be disposed of harmlessly; breaking down in the soil and providing nutrition for future plant growth.
The hotel also uses a range of technical materials, engineered in such a way that they can be continually upcycled and reused. For example the carpets (Ege), tiles (Mosa), and fabrics (Brentano, Climatex), which can be reprocessed into new products, bypassing landfill and incineration.
We no longer think of used products as waste or a burden on the environment, but useful materials with many future uses.
A crucial part of The Chamberlain design is Sibley Grove's policy of 'design for disassembly'. An approach adopted in all of their projects. In other words, it is considering how the design will come apart after use, whether it is two or two hundred years into the future.
It's one thing to use biological and technical materials, but if designers do not use them appropriately, it is irrelevant.
The detailing and fixing methods for The Chamberlain have been created so the design can come apart where possible, and materials maintain their circular properties. This ensures a positive environmental legacy.
Designers are duty-bound to create the designs that are appropriate for the future, rather than reinventing the past. This means designs that look great, are good quality and priced competitively, but crucially they must leave a positive environmental and social footprint.