This four-storey, 75 bedroom hotel and restaurant built near the centre of Newmarket provided its own challenges extending to the boundary on all sides of a small site. With busy footpaths and roads on two sides, and a club on the other two, this compact island site required precise detailing to make the most of the available space. Along with the requirement for a basement, the site sloped by over 2m end to end, presenting several challenges in terms of satisfying access requirements within a limited space. Our design solution incorporated a curved façade that maximises use of space and light. The upper floor bedrooms “float” above the fully glazed bar and restaurant spaces, creating a strong identity and positive frontage to the street. The design is further emphasized by the first floor overhang, engineered using a lightweight timber panel system for the upper floors to minimise weight on the structure below. A gently curved brick wall and railings follows the public footpath creating an external seating terrace.