Ronald Ndoro wants to “create a home for the vibrant literary community” with LIBRARY, a members-only club. The entryway features marble Bust Chairs by Tomas Libertiny and a table by Jaime Hayon for Se London.
Image courtesy of LIBRARY.Ronald Ndoro, business development manager for Apt58, an English club and “creative hub” that opened in 2012, is no stranger to luxury. With the opening of Library on St Martin’s Lane in London, he’s attempting to leverage more design savvy to reinvigorate the private club concept. His plan involves fusing a member’s only club with a six-room boutique hotel.
According to Ndoro, LIBRARY, which opened this summer, exists to “create a home for the vibrant literary community," he says. "We [hope to] provide a much-needed space for the pioneering design community of the capital and beyond."
Every aspect of the space features the work of cultural innovators. The interior design, helmed by Marc Peridis of 19 greek street, features green and upcycled material—including tiles and tabletops fabricated from used alcohol bottles found around Soho and furniture restored by artisans in the Out Of The Dark, a social enterprise program for disadvantaged youth—as well as experimental pieces by the collective. Rotating art exhibitions will be the purview of Tani Burns and Andrew Hancock of Art Naked, while Cecily Mullins and Nicola Robinson will handle cultural programming. Even the kitchen, complete with a communal chef’s table, will play host to special dinners showcasing recipes from recently released cookbooks. Nothing goes uncurated; Room Seven which boasts a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves will house a “bespoke collection of reading material.” The gym will feature mindfulness courses based on meditation, which promise, even after the barrage of design and events in other parts of the building, to “change the way people think, feel and act.”
