Birch founders Chris King and Chris Penn collaborated with architecture and design collective Red Deer to create a space that represented the return of resourcefulness, common among old English estates of the 15th century. “Red Deer set out to reuse and repair the existing site’s materials, stripping back clutter and unnecessary furniture to create more thoughtful spaces,“ said Red Deer.
With estate-made produce, a coworking space, extensive workshops, nature-led restaurants, and a range of experiences (beekeeping, yoga, and cooking classes to name a few), King and Penn are confident that the hotel is representative of the future of hospitality.
Red Deer set out to reuse and repair the existing site’s materials, stripping back clutter and unnecessary furniture to create more thoughtful spaces.
And the interior is as dynamic as the functionality of the space.
“We wanted to take a light touch on the existing features and celebrate the Georgian building,” says Ciarán O’Brien, co-founder of Red Deer. “The building created a really strong backdrop, so we looked at each space from the point of what already existed. Any intervention within a space needed to work with that, and once you build that design story it allows us to imagine how that room will operate.”
“In some spaces artworks were commissioned, in others the walls became the canvas or original painting were uncovered on the ceilings. The beautiful Japanese technique of kintsugi - the art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer – has been built into the long-term plan to continue the story of the hotel. As something breaks, it can be fixed, rather than replaced, telling a new story that wasn’t previously there.”
As something breaks, it can be fixed, rather than replaced, telling a new story that wasn’t previously there.
Red Deer design spaces & objects, seeking to demystify the process of working with an architect in both residential, food & beverage and hotel design. The award-winning practice was founded by architects Lionel Real de Azúa, Ciarán O’Brien and Lucas Che Tizard in an attempt to better engage with the world around them
Birch (Handle.Silk.Comet) is now open with double rooms available from £130. Book at birchcommunity.com
