Celebrity Life

Perusing historic architectural renovations in London, we discover a new generation of luxury developments offering unique cultural capital

Brexit, Covid, fluctuations in sterling – the past few years have been interesting times for those looking to invest in London. But with the UK paving a way to residency and citizenship for Hong Kong’s BNO passport holders, serious interest has been ramped up in the city.

“The London property market has always been the gold bar of global capital. With its historical and financial links around the world, there’ll always be strong demand,” says Benjamin Locke, founder of the China- based overseas property-investment firm Atlas Blue, which specialises in the US and UK. “The current market represents a buying opportunity for Asia and elsewhere, as I believe the pound is historically undervalued and the market was stagnant for the last two years because of Brexit uncertainty, but I expect the next three to five years to be very strong for the London market.”

For high-net-worth investors, what the British capital offers in terms of interesting historic redevelopments is quite unique, and the recent slew of sleek residential projects in outstanding heritage buildings has added a compelling luxury layer to London property’s USP.

A sense of human activity, elite amenities and inbuilt social spaces are key selling points as new developments take on a lifestyle angle. We look at two of the most striking projects we’ve seen so far.

Historic Architectural Renovations: Battersea Power Station

Beside the Thames and bordering one of South London’s favourite parks, the Battersea Power Station (BPS) project is a visionary, 17-hectare former industrial brownfield site redesigned as a community of homes, shops, cafes, offices and wide public spaces. The multi-billion-pound project is divided into eight phases, each designed by a noted architect – the latter include De Rijke Marsh Morgan, WilkinsonEyre, Foster+Partners and Gehry Partners.

Just opened is WilkinsonEyre’s Switch House West, the first section of the huge restoration of the Grade II*-listed red-brick power station that once supplied energy to the city. Here the first homes to open in the building will occupy a site that will also house Apple’s massive new London campus and a huge commercial and events space.
Apartments play on loft-style living, with original steelwork and exposed brick interiors from the 1930s – a vision of cool, contemporary luxury, heavily influenced by the building’s industrial roots. Some units feature large private terraces with sweeping riverside views. There’s also direct access to two private landscaped courtyards, and
a communal garden atop Turbine Hall A, which will house part of the Power Station’s retail space.

“The loft-style apartments prioritise open-plan living in natural daylight,” says Alex Michaelis, partner and co-founder of Michaelis Boyd, which has designed this phase’s interiors. “Our design for the two distinct interior palettes was inspired by the style and textures of the original 20th-century building. The luxurious residences have a refined industrial quality to them – we wanted to create timeless interiors that would reference the Power Station’s rich history, but also stand the test of time.”

When completed, BPS will form one of London’s largest office, retail, leisure, residential and cultural quarters. With grand cultural ambitions, the project blends urban regeneration with historic and contemporary architecture and interior design, and includes a 450-metre-long riverfront and a park. An ambitious spend of almost £7 million will also bring culture to this new neighbourhood, partly through collaborations with the nearby Battersea Arts Centre.

Historic Architectural Renovations: No 1 Palace Street

The architectural meld of No 1 Palace Street combines palatial facades with stunningly luxurious contemporary interiors. The development’s regal location – it faces Buckingham Palace – should seal the deal for those wishing to buy into a slice of British history. It’s still mostly a construction site when I visit, but the show homes provide a good look into the range offered in the 72 highly desirable, one- to five-bedroom apartments that should be completed by spring next year.

According to Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro, CEO of the site’s developer, Northacre, the Grade II-listed facade in Italian Renaissance style will front a mix of heritage and modern buildings. “The facade will feature five different architectural styles, with the interiors having four styles,” which might range from Queen Anne classical to modern.
“After all, the building was formerly the Palace Hotel,” says Barattieri di San Pietro, “which catered to an overspill of guests from Buckingham Palace. So if you were invited for a reception at the Palace but weren’t staying there overnight, you were probably staying here.”

The royal connections and impressive cultural heritage have attracted a mix of international buyers, with around 50 percent of the homes already sold. However, many larger units have been held back to hit the market closer to the completion date.

The most impressive homes are sprawling, grand, light-filled spaces with plenty of regal attitude – and views – as well as interiors that hit high notes for design and glamour. There’s a slick, attractive internal courtyard and a 6,500-square-foot wellness centre alongside a 3,500- square-foot entertainment space – together they feature a private lounge, state-of-the-art cinema, a gym and a naturally lit 20-metre- long swimming pool. “These leisure facilities are definitely not an afterthought!” says Barattieri Di San Pietro.

(Hero Image: The historic facade of No 1 Palace Street, one of London's most-talked-about historic architectural renovations)

The post Inside Two of London’s Most Exciting Historic Architectural Renovations appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

The famous River Thames in London isn’t just a waterway – it’s also a place that a small and highly exclusive number of people call home. We survey some of the alternatives that offer luxury living afloat in the British capital.

Stroll along London's historic towpaths or around its rejuvenated old docklands and you'll surely cast a covetous eye over the quirky houseboats moored on the River Thames and its marinas, wondering how you too might enjoy lazy days on the water.

You’ll daydream of throwing elegant, breezy summer soirées on deck, perhaps with Tower Bridge and the City skyscrapers silhouetted against the perfect Waterloo sunset; of the next morning sharing your outdoor breakfast toast and marmalade with a bevy of the Queen’s swans.

And all within the easy striking distance of the metropolitan hubbub – the shopping and galleries, the theatres and lights – of the West End. How can I, you’ll ask, dip my toes into London’s life aquatic? Very few people take the plunge, of course. According to the Canal & River Trust, which oversees more than 3,000km of canals and rivers across England and Wales, boat numbers in London are up by 84 percent since 2012, to 4,274 vessels. But only about 350 are houseboats on the Thames, or just 0.01 percent of the British capital’s 3.5 million residences.

And for good reason: the trust compares living on a boat to a physical job. “It might seem romantic, but people should go in with their eyes open,” it warns. Adventurous international investors with the will, a rebellious streak and the waterproof galoshes will surely find a way, however. And they'll also need to dip into the savings.

Houseboats vary dramatically in price, with the most luxurious
requiring initial outlays in the millions of pounds. Borrowing to buy such homes is tricky, because they aren’t on a fixed plot of land, and you’ll need to splash out on mooring costs, too, with prices rising to tens of thousands of pounds a year for the most prime locations, though sometimes with five-star facilities on land, including private clubs, health centres and spas, to ameliorate the deal.

One of the best spots to throw down an anchor is St Katharine Docks in Wapping, in east London – London’s premier luxury-yacht marina, which is also close to the City. The plushest London houseboat currently on the market is moored here.

Matrix Island is a 1930s steel barge converted into a magnificent contemporary home that blows away the biggest misconception about houseboats – that they lack light and space – thanks to its expansive proportions, high ceilings and generous use of glass.

The recently repainted vessel’s more than 5,000 square feet of internal space features an open-plan upper deck with huge and bright reception, kitchen and dining areas. A central atrium stairway leads to the lower deck with five large double bedrooms, each with direct or shared en suite facilities, as well as that all-important jet-ski platform.

The vessel is newly kitted out with wool carpeting and eco-friendly LED lighting, and the 15-metre-long foredeck provides ample space for entertaining under the stars.

Matrix Island is up for grabs from specialist London property agent River Homes for £3.5 million, with the agent estimating mooring costs at St Katherine Docks and maintenance charges adding up to a further £32,000 per annum.

On the other side of town, another luxe-grade houseboat is a five-bedroom charmer moored at popular Prospect Quay, next to Wandsworth Park in southwest London and just across from the exclusive Hurlingham Club. The refashioned Thames lighter is on the market for £1.8 million courtesy of Kensington-based property agent Malverns.

Owned by auctioneer Nick Bonham, of the famous auction house, the summery, white-and-blue houseboat has – according to the Daily Mail newspaper – “hosted British and European royalty, as well as actors and musicians. It’s believed Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who are known good friends of the Bonhams, are among those who have enjoyed spending time on the luxury water-pad.”

The spacious floating residence boasts 2,885 square feet of living space with another 1,655 square feet of outdoor areas and, once again, its interiors benefit from being flooded with light. There are five double bedrooms on the lower level, two with en suite bathrooms, as well as a utility room, study, lounge and another bathroom.

The upper deck benefits from an open-plan living area with a fully fitted kitchen-cum-breakfast room, front and rear decks and a sunny roof terrace. Mod cons include double-glazing, broadband and satellite TV.

The mooring costs are £6,000 a year, with the owners enjoying access to parking facilities, a porter, and a swimming pool and gym in the quay’s adjoining residential development. “I’ve been here over 20 years, which is the longest I’ve lived in a place,” Bonham told the Mail. “I love boating and water, I’m a third-generation sailor. It’s a way of life and style of life, but you don’t have to be a sailor to live here. This houseboat has an enormous amount of space – it’s bigger than most people’s houses in central London.”

For the river rat with a more bohemian bent, Light Vessel 93 is a former North Sea lighthouse ship built in 1938 and refitted by her photographer owner to become a decadent home and a unique location for fashion and movie shoots. On the market for £700,000 courtesy of River Homes (which appears to have cornered the smart end of bobbing-about-on-the-Thames market of late), the ship is berthed at Royal Victoria Dock in east London at a cost of £850 a month, which includes electricity.

Houseboats vary dramatically in price, with the most luxurious initially requiring outlays in the millions of pounds

Light Vessel 93’s interior spaces add up to an impressive 3,369.2 squre feet and are decorated with a dramatic steampunk aesthetic. Four of the six bedrooms – one en suite – are former crew cabins, complete with the original 1930s mahogany furniture. All replacement lighting, doors, timbers, portholes and fittings have been sourced from marine- and architectural-salvage firms or from shipyards.

The stern houses the large skipper’s cabin, and a master cabin and bathroom occupies the top level of the wheelhouse, while the ship’s 800-square-foot former engine room has proven a versatile space as a studio and for entertaining. A 19th-century French copper bath instantly grabs the eye in the master bathroom, and the open galley and mess are fitted out with English Rose cabinets.

As well as having starred in World of Interiors and Elle Décor, Light Vessel 93 has been the backdrop for two Vogue magazine cover stories and many movie, advertising and music-video productions, bringing on board such talent as the Arctic Monkeys, Olga Kurylenko, Andrew Garfield and Jessie J.

More affordable still at £500,000 is cute Anny, a 1924 Dutch barge that’s moored at Imperial Wharf at Fulham, in west London. Significantly smaller, with just 930 square feet of interior space, Anny has nonetheless been converted into a stylish living space with one double bedroom with dressing room and a further single bedroom- cum-study, a fully fitted kitchen with induction hob and oven, and sundeck. The single bathroom is fitted with shower and roll-top bath, and all is kept cosy through the year with underfloor heating and a wood-burning stove.

Anny has a fully functional engine and can navigate canals as well as rivers, and so could be shifted around the country easily. Mooring charges in its current location are around £13,500 a year.

Finally, the 19th-century Grain Tower Battery is a disused fort on its own island in the Thames estuary originally built to protect against French invasion and designated a Grade II listed building by English Heritage. Although it’s clearly not a houseboat in itself, agent Chrome Residential (chromeresidential.com) advises that the dilapidated fort could, with extensive redevelopment, become the focal point for an exclusive houseboat community – or a hotel, or a casino, or even a private residence. It can be snapped up for just £2 million.

Completely surrounded by water at high tide, this is the ultimate fixer-upper for any would-be Bond villain out there, and with an address that nobody could forget: No 1, The Thames

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