Dorchester House Aparthotel
Client
Andras House and Adagio Aparthotels
Location
Belfast
The Dorchester House Aparthotel project involves the adaptive reuse of an existing vacant office building in Belfast City Centre which has been reimagined into an aparthotel to address the increased need for hotel accommodation in the city centre.
The original 10-floor office building, Dorchester House located on Great Victoria Street consists of a 3-storey podium base, a 5-storey mid-section, and a 1.5/2-storey top with barrel vaulted and mansard roofs.
The redevelopment includes the following key elements:
- Conversion of the building into a 136-unit aparthotel, offering a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and co-living apartments.
- Addition of a new floor, increasing the building height from 10 to 11 storeys.
- Alterations to the base of the building, including the removal of dated elements such as arched openings, to create a more modern frontage on Great Victoria Street.
- Replacement of existing curtain walling in the mid-section with higher-performing fenestration.
- Removal of the existing vaulted and mansard roof, to be replaced with a new lightweight metal and glass element. This will represent a modest increase in height above the existing roof.
- Addition of a ground floor café to provide active frontage onto Great Victoria Street.
- Comprehensive interior renovations to accommodate the new aparthotel function.
- Upgrades to improve the building’s environmental performance and energy efficiency.
- This project represents an example of adaptive reuse in urban development, repurposing an existing vacant structure to meet rising accommodation needs in Belfast’s city centre.
