London based interior design studio A-nrd will complete their first hotel project with the opening of Birch Selsdon in Spring 2023. Located within the 200-acre historic Selsdon Park, just 30 minutes from Central London, the studio’s design concept for the new ‘sister’ hotel to the award-winning Birch Cheshunt centres around sustainability and craft.
Founded by Alessio Nardi, together with creative partner Lukas Persakovas, A-nrd studio are leading the design and extensive restoration of the historic 19th century manor’s communal areas including the entrance, orangery, all-day bar, all-day dining room, snug, the co-working area, meeting rooms and all 180 bedrooms and suites.
Whilst being respectful to the building’s history and architecture, the studio’s vision is to add a modernity and timelessness to the site through a carefully curated palette of materials and décor. With a restorative approach, A-nrd have stripped back many previous modifications inside and out to recover the building’s original fabric, reusing and adapting where possible in line with the studio’s sustainable design ethos.
Throughout the hotel, A-nrd will showcase many bespoke and highly crafted furniture designs, a trademark of the studio; alongside unique and collaboratively commissioned pieces from local makers and artists, many of which have been inspired by the estate's heritage, including lighting, textiles, furniture, sculpture andartwork from Michael Ruh Studio, the Yarn Collective, Olly Fathers, Chelsea Vivash, Weronika Marianna and Laurie Maun.
Collaborating with award-winning furniture designer, maker and environmentalist Sebastian Cox who is leading the rewilding of the Selsdon estate’s 200 acres; A-nrd and Cox have together designed several bespoke furniture pieces crafted from timber cut from the estate’s land to facilitate the re-wilding. Some of the key pieces include the reception desks with a timber shakes finish, sweeping booth seating in the All- Day Dining room cladded in rough sawn timber, co-working sharing tables and the bedside tables in each of the bedrooms and suites.
On Birch Selsdon, A-nrd founder Alessio Nardi comments:
“As a studio we have always focused on repurposing and valorising architectural and design features. It is important to us that we leave the planet in a better way than how we found it, and as designers we can do that by being conscious of the impact that we have, and by being sustainably focused with our approach to design. When we were asked by Birch to bring Selsdon to life, restoring where possible the building’s original features and preserving to an extent its history, was always going to be a large part of the design process for us.
We also wanted to inject a contemporary layer into the estate which is visible through the bespoke items we have designed for the interiors, the pieces we have commissioned from a wonderful array of artists and makers, and the bold colour choices we have made. It was important in the design of Birch Selsdon that every area and room have its own unique character, interlinked by a design language and use of materiality. In our design for the hotel, I hope we have achieved a comforting and relaxing, home away from home”.
Team:
Architect: A-nrd
Photography: Inna Yurchuk-Kostukovsky
Contractors: ITC, County, Craftwood, Forest, Sylvan, Fabrili
Material Used:
Finishes & Fabrics
1. The floor gallery
2. Solus
3. Forbo
4. Yarn collective
5. Casamance
6. Romo
7. Kvadrat
Furniture and lighting
1. Fern living
2. Massproductions
3. menuspace
4. Moroso
5. Not ma
6. Zilio
7. Jobs
8. Vinteriors
9. Caravane
10. Carl Hansen
11. Topos
12. HK living
13. Hai
14. Valerie objects
15. Sebastian cox
16. Michael Ruh
