Clubland
The Smithsons. Postwar authors of polarising polemics. And architects of surprisingly few executed schemes. Wife and husband architects Alison and Peter Smithson are arguably best known in London for their demolished scheme: Robin Hood Gardens. We visited Poplar’s least popular social housing estate in 2014 on the brink of its destruction. An impressive sight to the end of its five decades’ existence, unfortunately the maisonette access gangways lived up to their name or at least first syllable. The architecture put the first two syllables into practice: Brutalism. So impressive that the V and A acquired a three storey portion for prosperity.
That makes it all the more surprising to find ourselves light lunching at luxurious leisure in a Smithsons survival. Riviera isn’t cheap but we’re in the very heart of the exclusive St James’s area, betwixt the eponymous palace and The Ritz. Thank goodness for unpocketed shrouds. Original ascending and descending escalators, those emancipators of the upper levels, carry us to and from the first floor restaurant. Courgette flower starter: £18.50; crème brûlée pudding £14.00. Plated pedigree. Or rather pédigrée. Sometimes the main event isn’t the main.
The courgette flower is coated with truffle honey over a light tempura and stuffed with goat’s cheese. Crème brûlée keeps to a constant classic contrast of texture and taste. Round the corner along Pall Mall is a reminder of the history of Anglo French cooking. An 1835 portrait of Alexis Soyer painted by his future wife Emma Jones hangs in The Reform Club. Five years earlier, the Foreign Office Chef had escaped the French Revolution. Alexis was appointed Chef at the recently established Reform Club in 1838. Architect Sir Charles Barry gave the Chef free rein to design the kitchens which became cutting edge for their time. Riviera keeps the tradition of fine Anglo French cuisine alive and kicking.
It would be rude not to sample the Loire Valley wine cellar. Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Les Bêtes Crieuses, Château Thébaut (2018) at £76.00 is the least private bank busting out of five vintages from the region. Perhaps it’s the location, possibly it’s the restaurant, probably it’s the wine – actually it’s all three – but double height windows set in a row with chamfered corners overlooking clubland make for a great interior space and afternoon dining experience. Towards the rear, the kitchen is a glass box full of a dozen chefs.
The Grade II* Listed Smithson Plaza on St James’s Street started life as The Economist Plaza. So often, town planning and architecture is moulded by regulation rather than imagination. For example, the recent Building Safety Regulator requires any scheme over 18 metres to go through much more thorough examination. Suddenly, developers are promoting six storey and lower buildings. The Economist made use of London County Council’s 1956 relaxation on tall buildings.
The street facing block which contains Riviera is a four storey plus mezzanine polygon, a similar height to its 18th and 19th century neighbours. On the far side of the Plaza set back from St James’s Street, an eight storey tower and a 15 storey tower broke the mould, scraped the sky, heralded a brave new era. In 2016, the magazine occupier departed and developer Tishman Speyer bought the triplet towers. Or twin towers and a little sibling. DSDHA architects designed a highly effective mixed use revivification of the Smithsons’ design.
Founding Director Deborah Saunt (the DS in the practice’s name; fellow Founding Director David Hills provides the DH) says, “DSDHA has considered the impact of incremental changes since 1964, and in conversation with distinguished scholars of the Smithsons’ work, has assessed what might be preserved or changed. We devised a phased conservation framework for the ensemble’s restoration and substantial environmental upgrade.”
The facing material of roach – no Robin Hood Gardens concrete here – now positively gleams. Roach is formed in the same beds as limestone but is closer to the top so that it is pitted with delicate imprints of oyster shell fragments. The Smithsons’ geometric forms and façade grids have been brought back to life. Cartesianism on cartography.
Riviera is the brainchild of restaurateurs Arian and Alberto Zandi, founders of Emerald Hospitality Group. So far, the Spanish born London based twins have brought Côte d’Azur to St James’s; Lake Como to Kensington (Como Garden); Bolgerhi to Kensington (Bottega 35); Kyoto to Knightsbridge (Kumo); El Escoria to Mayfair (El Norte); Sukagawa to Fleet Street (Sushi Club); Zacatecas to Luxembourg (Zuaya); and flames to Fleet Street (Wildfire). Arian says, “We are working on an expansion roadmap in London and other cities internationally.”
The Smithsons: enfants terrible or just terrible? Both. Succeeded in west London; failed in east London.
