82
melt deisgn hub
the World Of Hospitality
Architects Bring Chelsea Spa
Closer To Home
The award-winning designers behind an inspirational
new Chelsea spa have turned the idea of the on its
head, swapping a clichéd environment for the feel of a
residential house.
With 30 years in the spa and wellness sector and 100
worldwide spa and wellness projects under its belt,
leading London architectural firm Melt Design Hub,
in collaboration with Lázaro Rosa-Violán at Studio
Contemporain in Barcelona, has created a highly
sophisticated home away from home at Gazelli House,
Walton Street – and an abject lesson in making the
complex look simple.
With an elaborate brief – complicated by the fact the
building is based in an urban conservation area –
Melt’s bespoke design has challenged preconceptions
by creating an ‘anti-spa’, replacing the white washed
walls, reception desks and product displays of a run-
of-the-mill spa with a series of homely rooms.
Organised over three floors, on the ground floor retail
area there’s a ‘sitting room’ instead of a reception area
and in the basement ‘guest rooms’ instead of therapy
rooms, with linen-lined beds and storage units
concealed behind sliding doors. On the first floor, in
the stunning ‘Sky Parlour’ – where arching skylights
capture the clouds above – sumptuous mirrored walls
conceal the toilet and kitchen areas.
Magic and illusion are at the heart of the design. A
fantastical, floating golden staircase –formed out of
folded steel sections then “veneered” in patternised
brass sheets – links all the floors at the building’s heart,
and topped with book lined walls it is reminiscent
of Alice in Wonderland. Tiny from the outside, the
Website: www.meltdesignhub.com
highly-choreographed building opens up and out into
a series of rooms, from hot shower cubicles with glass
ceilings to a garden terrace, straight out of a Spanish
‘terraza’.
“We like to challenge the accepted norms and
defy convention, so at Gazelli House we’ve created
something very different from your ordinary spa,” says
Melt director Asif Iqbal. “Our projects are designed to
delight and inspire, while simultaneously delivering
value and profit to our clients, and the laid back feel
belies the intricate and painstaking detailing of every
plane and surface finish. It’s a house and a destination,
and a highly crafted piece that appears almost
accidental.”
Find out more at www.meltdesignhub.com or
www.gazellihouse.com
Website: www.gazellihouse.com