A floral tribute to The City
Florattica rooftop bar and terrace is a hidden gem situated within the Minories development, in Aldgate, London.
It is located on the 11th floor of the new wing of the ACME designed Canopy by Hilton, London City hotel.
At ground floor level Florattica has its own double height entrance and at rooftop level, an expansive terrace with sweeping views of the City of London skyline, St. Paul’s Cathedral and across Whitechapel.
Aldgate High Street was one of the busiest gateways into the medieval City of London and the stretch in front of the Aldgate has been known as Butchers Alley for over 300 years.
The demolition of the Haydon Goods yard Station and the construction of the Metropolitan Line and Aldgate Station has left behind a large gap in the urban fabric.
Since 2012, ACME has been designing within the Minories.
Canopy by Hilton London City, designed for 4C Hotel Group, is the first building to be delivered on this site – a story of re-use and reinvention of an existing Aon Insurance office building.
Adjacent to the hotel is the second building is currently under construction – The Haydon – a 16 story residential block, due for completed in 2024.
The third block is 60 Aldgate, a new office building on Algdate High Street which received planning in 2022 and will help to close this urban void between the City and Whitechapel.
Florattica’s interior design is inspired by East London’s textile industry and the silk woven floral patterns created by local 17th century French Huguenots.
The high fashion of that time was all about woven and embroidered flower patterns and colours.
ACME has worked with some of these historic patterns and flowers to create new custom woven fabrics for Florattica, as well as designing a real flower ceiling in homage to this part of East London’s local history.
The bespoke floral ceiling installation was installed over three days by floral design studio, Phohm, and is composed of preserved gypsophila, achillea and bloom broom.
Florattica is strong on cocktails, designed and created by Head Mixologist Serena Carrino, previously of Nightjar in Shoreditch, and there is a simple, refined offering of small plates, with a choice of dishes either ‘From the Sea’ or ‘From the Land’.
Stand-outs include a delicious Salmon Tartare with Chilli Mayonnaise and a Charcuterie board with Capocollo, Speck, Bresaola and Salame Finocchiona.
Photography (in order of appearance)
Image 1: Benedict Luxmoore
Images 2, 3, 5, 7: Ellen Christina Hancock
Images 4, 6: Ed Reeve