Opening 1958 | ||
 | ||
Location London, England, United Kingdom Architect Reginald Uren
(Sanderson House)
Denton Corker Marshall (Sanderson Hotel) | ||
The Sanderson Hotel was constructed on Berners Street, London during 1958 as the new headquarters and showroom for Arthur Sanderson and Sons, manufacturers of wallpaper, fabrics and paint for its centennial. It was designed by architect Reginald Uren, of the architectural firm, Slater and Uren. The original design allowed for dynamic room configurations. The building plan was fabricated around an open-to-the-sky inner courtyard with a Japanese garden designed by Philip Hicks. In 1991, the Sanderson building was listed Grade II* by English Heritage. It was reopened on 25 April 2000 by Morgans Hotel Group after refurbishment by Philippe Starck and Denton Corker Marshall.
Contents
The hotel occupies the site of 54 Berners Street, known for the Berners Street Hoax of 1810.
Design features
The original building was constructed with a steel and glass frontage reflecting architecture of the 1960s that is seen in the opening footage of the 'Danger Man' television series. Its Courtyard garden was situated on top of an underground car park and fronted the wholesale trade sales area to the right. The retail areas were to the left and centre. The courtyard was designed by landscape architect Philip Hicks in the late 1950s. The private courtyard garden was classified as a landmark “Heritage Garden.”
Originally the main entrance featured both lifts/elevators and a grand staircase which ascended against a huge stained glass mural masking the lift shafts. The first floor was devoted to wallpaper displays and its lengthy retail counter allowed for conversion to a long bar. The second floor was reserved for fabric displays, while the third floor held management offices and an interior design studio.
In each room, above the bed, there was a painting bolted to the ceiling. The painting was a reproduction of “The Cloud” by Swedish painter, Prince Eugen. The original dates back to 1895. The paintings have now been removed.
Suka, opened in April 2007 with redesign by designer India Mahdavi, is a restaurant that offers Malaysian and European cuisine.
In 2014, the hotel rooms had a major design make-over, by Tim Andreas.
Popular culture
In the summer of 2009, The Sanderson's courtyard hosted live sessions every week, called 'Sanderson Predicts'; featuring the newest UK artists, the gigs saw both Marina & The Diamonds and Little Boots perform before they were big stars.