The Sanderson Hotel is a hotel on

Berners Street Berners Street is a thoroughfare located to the north of Oxford Street in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, originally developed as a residential street in the mid-18th century by property developer William Berners (property de ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, built in 1958 as the new

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

and showroom for Arthur Sanderson and Sons, manufacturers of wallpaper, fabrics and paint, for the company's centennial. The building was designed by architect

Reginald Uren Reginald Harold Uren FRIBA (5 March 1906 – 17 February 1988) was a New Zealand-born architect who worked in the United Kingdom for most of his career. Life and work Uren was born in the Belfast area of Christchurch, South Island on 5 March 1 ...

, of the architectural firm, Slater and Uren. The original design allowed for dynamic room configurations. The building surrounds a courtyard with a

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

Grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in 1991. After refurbishment by

Philippe Starck Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles. Life Starck was born on ...

and

Denton Corker Marshall Denton Corker Marshall is an international architecture practice based in Melbourne, Australia. History Denton Corker Marshall was established in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1972. It was founded by architects John Denton, Bill Corker, and Barrie ...

, it was reopened by

Morgans Hotel Group Morgans Hotel Group (NASDAQ: $MHG) was a global, publicly-traded hotel company founded by Ian Schrager, inventors of the boutique hotel category with the 1984 opening of Morgans Hotel in New York City. MHG was listed on the NASDAQ exchange for ov ...

as the Sanderson Hotel on 25 April 2000. In 2019 the hotel was sold to Vivion, a real estate firm backed by the Israeli tycoon Amir Dayan. The hotel occupies the site of 54 Berners Street, known for the

Berners Street Hoax The Berners Street hoax was perpetrated by Theodore Hook in Westminster, London, England, in 1809. Hook had made a bet with his friend Samuel Beazley that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week, whi ...

of 1810.

Design features

The building was constructed with a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

steel and glass frontage that is seen in the opening footage of the ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'' television series. The courtyard garden, situated on top of an underground

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surfac ...

, fronted the wholesale trade sales area to the right; the retail areas were to the left and centre. The courtyard garden, designed by landscape architect Philip Hicks, was recreated for the hotel and has been included on the

register of Parks and Gardens of Historic Interest; originally open to the sky, it was glazed over in the hotel conversion. The lobby has both lifts and a grand flying staircase which rises against a large backlit

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

mural masking the lift shafts; this is the largest secular work by John Piper. 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. After refurbishment as a hotel, each room had a

sleigh bed A sleigh bed is a style of bed with curved or scrolled foot and headboards, thus resembling a sled or sleigh. Often made of wood and quite heavy, the sleigh bed is a result of the French and American Empire period of the early 19th century. The ...

with a reproduction of the 1895 painting ''The Cloud'' by Prince Eugen bolted to the ceiling above, and a pair of penis-shaped dumbbells. The rooms were redesigned in 2014 by Tim Andreas. The hotel's Malaysian-European restaurant Suka was designed by India Mahdavi with furnishings by Tom Dixon.

Popular culture

In summer 2009, weekly live music sessions in the Sanderson's courtyard called 'Sanderson Predicts' featured new artists, including both

Marina & The Diamonds Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...

and

Little Boots Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984), better known by her stage name Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter and DJ. She was previously a member of the band Dead Disco. Since performing as a solo artist she has released ...

performing before they were big stars.

References

External links

Sanderson Hotel
{{Hotels in London 2000 establishments in England Hotels established in 2000 Hotels in London