Joshua Tree National Park in California has long served as an oasis for those looking to escape the sprawl of Los Angeles for the rugged grace of the desert. More than 5,000 miles away, the transformational landscape is captured in Bermonds Locke, the latest London hotel concept from aparthotel company Locke. Tapped to transport the rustic aesthetic to a vacant office volume in the city’s South Bank, local design consultancy Holloway Li was keen to deliver a major departure from the stateliness of the London hotel market.

Occupying a concrete structure, Bermonds Locke highlights the attributes of its monolithic bones with ironmongery, metal accents, and insulated clay blocks that form a desert-inspired backdrop offset by plentiful greenery. Mirrored ceilings and a moon installation suspended above reception establish a dramatic mirage effect upon arrival, and large panels of zinc color passivate cast an iridescent glow across the sundrenched interior in homage to Joshua Tree’s history as a setting for psychedelic pilgrimage.

The lobby’s central coworking area functions as the hotel’s nucleus, and was a sought-after destination between London’s COVID-19 lockdowns. “It was extremely popular as a workplace that was separate from someone’s home, when people weren’t going back to their offices yet,” says Holloway Li creative director Alex Holloway.

Across six floors, 143 guestrooms showcase 53 unique footprints as a result of the building’s existing layout. “It was like Tetris,” Holloway recalls. “From a practical point of view, that was the hardest thing.” The rooms boast light blue and coral palettes, which offset the sunset color story of the public spaces, while fluted glass screens infuse a mind-bending aesthetic. “The success of the project usually comes from the restrictions,” Holloway says. “It’s very hard to design without these things to push against.”