Half Dose #12: Inn The Park
It's been a few months since I've done one of these, so I figured it's time to start up the "half doses" again.
The first time I saw a photograph of Inn The Park, a new restaurant in St. James Park by Michael Hopkins, I was pleased with its simplicity and the way it fits into the park, like it belonged there or had always been there. Though Hopkins is usually grouped with other high-tech Brits like Lord Foster and Richard Rogers, here he subdues that tendency in favor of a natural palette that nevertheless exhibits his tectonic skill.
Basically, the building is a one-story structure housing a restaurant and toilet facilities. A glass wall with sliding panels and a veranda overlook the adjacent lake. The whole of the project is beneath a grass roof that makes the building blend into the park even more than these photos attest.
It's refreshing to see an architect show some restraint in creating a park folly that is a pleasing extension of its natural surroundings.
Links:
The first time I saw a photograph of Inn The Park, a new restaurant in St. James Park by Michael Hopkins, I was pleased with its simplicity and the way it fits into the park, like it belonged there or had always been there. Though Hopkins is usually grouped with other high-tech Brits like Lord Foster and Richard Rogers, here he subdues that tendency in favor of a natural palette that nevertheless exhibits his tectonic skill.
Basically, the building is a one-story structure housing a restaurant and toilet facilities. A glass wall with sliding panels and a veranda overlook the adjacent lake. The whole of the project is beneath a grass roof that makes the building blend into the park even more than these photos attest.
It's refreshing to see an architect show some restraint in creating a park folly that is a pleasing extension of its natural surroundings.
Links:
- Hopkins Architects.
- Inn The Park.
- Europaconcorsi's page with text and images.
Very Nice! That was some creative, caring & careful planning. I especially like the camofluaged rear elevation (opposite the water). Also am amazed how you can not see the impact construction had on the area.
ReplyDeleteGoogled the name and read some rather scathing reviews about the restaurant. Seems the design was great but the management somewhat less so.
ReplyDeleteRedd - Good point about the construction impact. Perhaps vehicles and equipment was limited to a reasonable size; no semis.
ReplyDeleteMark - The only review I'd read of the restaurant was in the Guardian and it was positive. But a critics view is bound to be different than a user, no doubt. Guess I'll have to go there myself sometime and make my own judgement!