Located next to the soaring arches of the Sheffield Winter Gardens, another Buro Happold project, the Macdonald St Paul’s Hotel represents the very best in contemporary hotel design. As Sheffield’s first four star city centre hotel it makes a stylish contribution to the revitalisation of the city’s urban fabric.

A key parameter for the development was that it should not overshadow the Winter Gardens or be higher than the adjacent Town Hall. This created the problem of how to fit enough bedrooms and facilities on the site to make it economically viable. Following detailed spatial planning the solution was to fit mezzanine floors in back-of-house areas, which added three additional stories within the fixed height of the building.

Pre-cast construction for the bedroom block was key to the success of the project, the slender load bearing walls and slabs helping the structure to meet the tight massing limits. To ensure a smooth, aesthetic transition to the adjoining Winter Gardens, the hotel’s Pavilion has a simple but striking curved valley roof which picks up the sweeping line of the neighbouring building. A simple glazed facade allows guests to enjoy ‘borrowed’ views of the adjacent lush plantlife.

Date: Completed in 2005