100 Minories
London, U.K.
2019
Exterior Cladding
Buchanan Hartley Architects
Hotel
100 Minories is a five-star hotel located in London, facing the Tower of London. This new 9-story with 270 bedrooms (Class C1) and retail facilities, used to be an educational building that was refurbished and finished in 2019. This is the latest hotel development joining the Grange Hotels Portfolio.
Due to its location, the project had high specification requirements, making it one of the most complex hotels in the City of London in terms of adjacent properties and associated technical approvals. Its site is outside the Roman City wall, so extensive archaeological investigation had to be done. The two-story deep basement was constructed using a 900-diameter secant pile.
LSI Stone was involved in the development of this great project, providing Portuguese natural limestones for the exterior cladding of the Hotel. Due to the complexity and innovative design of the building, there were two different types of limestone chosen.
Perlina Limestone is a dark creamy and beige colour with neutral tones, having a compact appearance with small to large size brownish fossils.
The other one is Moleanos Limestone that contains a light beige coloured background and a slight greyish tonality with thin to medium grain and disperses brownish fine spots. This type of stone is very popular in the United Kingdom due to its similarities to Portland and resistance to weather conditions. Making it more subtle then Perlina in visually therms.
Both these stones are medium hardness, and are frequently used for cladding, flooring, street furniture and other stonework and both are extremely versatile and resistant to weather conditions and external factors, becoming the best option for projects like 100 Minories based in London. The finish used was honed, almost identical to the polished finish, with a smooth surface but without glare or light reflections. On the Perlina limestone, a 120-grit is used to create a smoother honed finish; on the Moleanos stone, we used a 60-grit to make a less smooth honed finish and create more texture on the stone.
Perlina is used on the first level façade so that its details are showed clearly, creating a unique wall. On the other hand, the simplicity of Moleanos is applied on the upper floors, creating a unique and elegant façade. This contrast redesigns the style of the façade and originates an excellent result.
The hotel becomes a high quality and neutral tones building, located on the center of London. Although is very subtle and neutral, becomes very aesthetically appealing for those who pass frequent the busy street.
