Studio Moren has won planning permission for a seven-storey extension to the Holiday Inn Express Southwark.

The extension will be the third undertaken at the property by Studio Moren and will add accommodation for hotel guests and create an additional F&B offering.

The project will add a further 35 rooms to the hotel, 11 more than the initial feasibility study indicated was possible, taking the room count to 184.

Studio Moren previously extended the site in 2011 and 2015, the former prior to the London 2012 Paralympics, with the intention of innovating in accessible and inclusive design. In addition, the group introduced a number of systems to reduce the building’s carbon footprint, including a rainwater harvesting system and irrigation to the green/living wall on the rear external elevation.

The new extension has been designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent rating, through the use of solar panels, an extensive green roof and ground-level planters, which will also serve to enhance the hotel’s surroundings.

Paul Wells, Partner, Studio Moren said: “The growth of the Holiday Inn Express Southwark over the years is a testimony to the success of our clients, RBH Management, and a matter of pride to us, given our involvement during the different stages of its lifecycle.

“The latest – and final – phase, will see us meet the challenge of adding rooms to satisfy growing demand for this popular location, which we achieved by employing the existing rear under-used parking area.

“We have carefully designed the extension to maximise room count, foot print and create a secondary F&B space for use at key pressure times throughout the day. We also have revisited the refuse storage, servicing layout and kitchen provision to better serve both the existing and proposed guest rooms and introducing new active frontage to improve the hotel’s appearance in the neighbourhood.”

RBH’s Chief Technical Officer, Gregor MacNaughton, commented: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Studio Moren team again to help further develop our initial design and to finally obtain formal consent. Capital projects is a significant part of our business so it’s great to be able to work with our established partners to deliver for our hotel owners.”

The design completes the urban block, creating a homogeneous building. Studio Moren has set the sixth floor back with a contemporary dark grey tiled mansard to respond to the neighbouring period building, soften the corner and acknowledge the rear sites location as secondary to Southwark Street.

It has also extended the grid pattern across the fourth side of the central courtyard, over the car park entry, completing the urban block to create a more visually pleasing aesthetic.

The elevation that wraps the corner between Bear Lane and Prices Street features a distinct, curved façade above a two-storey glazed plinth, and has been carefully designed to sympathetically join with the period, brick warehouse elevation of the existing hotel wing along Price’s Street.