The first of four hotels Holloway Li will complete for Club Quarters, the relaunch of the St Paul’s property signals the brand’s evolution in the realm of lifestyle hotels—as places to stay, work, and unwind, while also connecting with and immersing in the destination. To achieve this, the team drew inspiration from the mid-century building’s architectural heritage, blending historic references with contemporary aesthetics throughout, most prominently in custom-design features crafted in collaboration with local artisans. Their scheme leans heavily on tactile materials and vibrant accents to enhance the guest experience, combining warm hues, textured glass, and bold geometric patterns that breathe new life into the modernist building’s less-is-more sensibility. Add a collection of contemporary artworks and a curated design language emerges, one which harmoniously marries and the classic charm of the post-war period with the demands of modern travellers.

Additional references to the original architecture are evident in the new reception desk; doubling as a coffee counter, the timber-clad volume features column-like stone embellishments by Marble Collective interspersed with vertical bronze bars to subtly differentiate between the two functions. Bottle-green glazed, geometric tiles, hand-made in collaboration with a tile maker in Italy, form a vibrant back-drop to the new counter, while an adjacent self-check-in area that combines a solid oak frame with fluted glass and bronze tinted mirror surfaces echoes the counter’s curvaceous design and striated details. Suspended above the reception area is an undulating light installation designed in collaboration with lighting designer Joe Armitage. Crafted from a paper-backed diffusion material draped across a steel frame, the cloud-like centrepiece offers an ethereal counterpoint to the robust textures below.