Pioneering lifestyle aparthotel brand, Locke, has opened ‘Buckle Street Studios by Locke’ in Aldgate – its eleventh property, and fifth location for the brand in London.
Spread over 13 storeys, Buckle Street Studios offers 103 contemporary studio apartments, a concept store, co-working area, ‘Shaman’ coffee shop and meeting room. This latest addition to the Locke portfolio breaks with brand convention, with a hybrid room mix that includes 87 compact apartments featuring cleverly designed kitchens and living areas, as well as 16 new hotel-style rooms – primed for short stay guests.
Buckle Street Studios will also be the first Locke to feature a thoughtfully curated concept store and dedicated Makers Space that will champion emerging designers and artists, most of which are local.
The concept store will showcase limited edition items and collectables that blur the lines between art and commodity, including handmade items by custom sneaker designer AfroKickz, ceramicist Ally Powell and artist Dion Kitson. Meanwhile, on the mezzanine floor, guests and locals can take advantage of a contemplative co-working space, which will also host the aparthotel’s evolving cultural programme.
Designed from the ground-up by Matthew Grzywinski of Grzywinski+Pons – the design visionary behind the first four Locke locations – the building considers the experience of both those staying within the aparthotel as well as passers-by observing the unique exterior.
The enigmatic social spaces at Buckle Street Studios have been conceptualised to resemble an art gallery meets concept store, with museum-style vitrines encasing the concept store’s coveted curiosities. From its curved furniture and smooth arches to timber walls and neutral colour palette, the lobby has been elegantly curated as a calm, serene space where guests and locals can lounge and work for a few minutes or a few hours.
Grzywinski has continued this approach in the apartments, which combine sophisticated neutral tones and moody lighting with raw concrete and plaster alongside brushed brass glitzy finishes. The distinctive building exterior is defined by a translucent glass crown enclosing the top two floors, which has been consciously designed to resemble a modernist lighthouse – an iconic beacon from which guests can explore East London.
“Buckle Street Studios is the cherry on top of an exceptionally busy year of new openings across Europe for Locke,” says Eric Jafari, Chief Development Officer and Creative Director. “The project is another masterstroke in design by Grzywinski+Pons, and an example of how hotels as spaces are evolving to become increasingly hybrid and versatile.
“The concept store and Makers Space is a particularly exciting project for us, and we hope that it will enable guests and locals to discover some of the most talented emerging creatives in the UK.”
