At a glance
- Client / brand: Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square (renamed Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge in October 2024)
- Location: 10 Trinity Square, Tower Hill, City of London
- Years: 2016–2019
- Role: Guest room and suite wallpapering
- Wallcoverings: Phillip Jeffries Tweed; Omexco
- Scope: Survey, wall preparation and priming, setting out, installation with full pattern and seam control
The building
Few addresses in London speak so eloquently of trade and empire. Designed by Sir Edwin Cooper, Ten Trinity Square was opened by the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, in 1922 as the headquarters of the Port of London Authority. In 1946 it hosted a reception marking the inaugural meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations, an occasion held in the building’s ballroom.
Acquired by Reignwood Group in 2010, the Grade II*-listed building underwent a seven-year restoration and conversion, led architecturally by Aukett Swanke, before opening as a Four Seasons hotel and private residences in 2017. It stands a short walk from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the neighbourhood whose name the hotel took in 2024.
The brief
To paper the guest rooms and suites: premium finishes, among them Phillip Jeffries’ tailored Tweed, that had to sit comfortably beside restored heritage fabric, fine joinery and polished timber, and to read as one surface from the first room to the last.
Our approach
Survey. Every space was surveyed before a single roll was opened, so that substrates, junctions and sight lines were understood rather than discovered.
Preparation and priming. Walls were prepared and primed to suit each material. With textile wallcoverings the substrate is everything; any flaw beneath a tweed or woven surface will eventually show.
Setting out. Drops were planned around windows, doors and joinery so that seams fell where the eye would not look for them, and so that each run began and ended with intent.
Pattern and seam control. Natural textiles vary from roll to roll. Batches, shading and seams were checked continuously so that walls read as one continuous surface.
Coordination. Across the years on site the team worked hand in hand with the electricians, the French polishers and the main contractor, sequencing our work around second-fix electrics and polished joinery so that no trade compromised another. The team’s organisation was as much a part of the finish as the craft itself.
Materials
- Phillip Jeffries Tweed: a tailored textile wallcovering with the soft, flecked texture of classic suiting. Phillip Jeffries also offers a Vinyl Tweed; the exact Tweed reference used at Ten Trinity Square is not recorded here.
- Omexco: fine Belgian wallcoverings with a long heritage in textiles. Omexco’s contract offer includes its High Performance range for hospitality; the specific collection used on this project is not recorded here.
Outcome
Guest room and suite wallpapering from 2016 to 2019 on one of London’s most significant hotel conversions, through the opening in 2017 and the rooms that followed. Quiet, tailored walls that let Sir Edwin Cooper’s architecture take the applause.