The Standard recently opened up its first international outpost in London. It's a 266-room hotel housed in a 1974 Brutalist office building overlooking King's Cross. London-based Orms (architect) was the lead consultant and they did an incredible job both preserving and modernizing the existing building.

All of the existing windows were replaced, but otherwise the Brutalist exterior remains more or less intact.

A tasteful 3 storey addition was placed on top of it, which required threading new steel columns through the existing waffle slabs. There's a 1st floor transfer slab with concrete columns below it in order to pickup these new loads.

A dedicated (and red) exterior shuttle elevator was also added to the north elevation of the building. This takes people up to the rooftop, which is a signature feature of all Standard Hotels.

Brutalist architecture is experiencing a bit of renaissance right now. We are seeing people lament the demise of our concrete blocks from the 60s and 70s. Perhaps it's because it's a style/movement that is finally old enough for people to appreciate it. That's often how these things work.

The Standard in London is a perfect example of how this history might be both respected and repositioned.

Images via Orms