Innovative subterranean hub by Premier Inn hotel to open at The Brunswick Centre, Bloomsbury
Lazari Investments, in partnership with Whitbread PLC, has secured planning permission for a sustainable, smart, hub by Premier Inn hotel below The Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury, Central London.
The initiative marks a significant advancement in hotel design and sustainability in creating a 207-bedroom hotel within an underutilised, double-storey, subterranean car park beneath the Grade II listed residential and retail building.
Cutting edge lighting technology which provides a natural spectrum of light following the human circadian rhythm, will be used to light all the hotel bedrooms, reception, and communal guest areas. Access to the hotel will be through a dedicated ground-floor entrance, leading guests into the unique underground space.
The development will be the first of its kind for Whitbread’s hub by Premier Inn brand, building on extensive research and testing of circadian lighting in its existing hotel estate.
Nicholas Lazari, co-founder of Lazari Investments, said:
“By reimagining an under-utilised car park, we are not only creating a valuable hotel space but are maintaining the architectural integrity and functionality of The Brunswick Centre. The hotel marks a new chapter in our commitment to the important heritage building, enhancing its contribution to London by boosting employment, stimulating local footfall, and encouraging additional spending in the local area.”
The development involves lowering a floor of the existing double-storey basement car park space to create the necessary floor-to-ceiling heights for the hotel. The lowered sections will remain in situ within the building resulting in substantial reductions in embodied carbon in constructing the new hotel.
Plant and photovoltaic (PV) panels to power the hotel will be located on the roof of the Brunswick Centre, with any additional electricity drawn from the grid expected to be generated from renewable sources.
Jonathan Langdon, Senior Acquisition Manager for Whitbread, said:
“Whitbread has been transforming former retail and office buildings into successful Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels for close to twenty years. Working closely with Lazari Investments, we have applied this experience and new exciting lighting technology to create a new type of hotel in a superb Central London location. The subterranean hotel pushes the hub by Premier Inn brand forward once again and opens a world of opportunity for us in looking at the possibilities of converting unused, underutilised, and hidden spaces into successful budget hotels.”
Planning permission for the development was granted by Camden Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday 21st March 2024. Development of the new hotel is anticipated to start later in 2024.
The Brunswick Centre was designed by Patrick Hodgkinson and Sir Leslie Mann and comprises an eight-storey building with residential units above a public shopping centre with a central outdoor plaza. The building was completed in 1972 and was Grade II listed in 2000.
Lazari Investments has owned the Brunswick Centre since 2014 and Whitbread will occupy the subterranean hotel on a lease agreement for a minimum of 25 years.
