Co-living brand ARK has introduced its first community-focused rental concept in the Wembley Park section of London. Designed by locally based studio Holloway Li, the flexible serviced model contains 300 units that provide lodging for as little as two nights or as long as a year. The hybrid live-work destination, located within a former hotel, was crafted to serve as a reprieve from city life.
According to Holloway Li cofounder Na Li, the project draws “influence from the spatial design of nautical living, from iconic London canal boats to luxury cruise vessels, while paying homage to classic terrace housing, on a grand scale.”
Interiors are populated with furniture and found objects selected to compose a residential atmosphere with furnishings are accumulated and collected over time. “Every element was curated carefully, allowing the space to feel as if it had developed organically and feel ‘lived in’ as a house might,” fellow Holloway Li cofounder Alex Holloway adds.
Among the public areas are a residents’ lounge, coworking space, multimedia room, gym, and communal kitchen with seven cooking stations. Coworking amenities include private meeting rooms and booths for privacy. Crowning the property is a 3,500-square-foot landscaped rooftop that frames panoramic vistas of central London.
Each of the private studios are fully furnished with functional storage, a bespoke table, corner sofa, kitchenette, and double bed. “Rooms are demarcated by joinery elements, such as textured and translucent screens and partitioned seating areas, balancing flexibility with modularity and spatial efficiency,” Li says. “Inspired by the interiors of canal boats and playing on the idea of the ‘Ark,’ we used timber shelving and paneling, subtly reminiscent of a traditional drawing room, to break down large open plan areas while retaining a convivial openness.” Additionally, floor-to-ceiling windows add warmth and illuminate a subtle color palette of sage, sand, and taro.
The lounge, grab-and-go island, and coworking area
The coworking space features large tables and snug booth seating
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