Lifestyle with lofty ambition
IT’S 30 years since Canary Wharf first burst into our national consciousness with One Canada Square, the 50-storey skyscraper that is still one of the tallest buildings in London.The 128 acres of Canary Wharf Estate is now a city within a city, dominated by glass and steel office and apartment blocks towering over the River Thames and former dockland waterways now lined with restaurants, bars, parks and picturesque gardens. There’s even one million square feet of shops, most in underground malls.
But its fourth district –Wood Wharf – is shaping up to be completely different. After a first phase of giant apartment blocks, including One Park Drive with its remarkable cylindrical design, its second phase will be marked by a considerably more human scale.
Launched yesterday is 8 Harbord Square, a brick-built 12-storey block of 82 warehouse-like apartments with exposed brick walls, concrete ceilings and Crittall windows that are totally open plan except for the bathroom.
“A warehouse feel isn’t something that’s been offered to the market here before,” says Canary Wharf’s director of residential sales, Brian De’ath. “It is a big change for us and nice to bring something different into the market.
“We’ll be reaching such a different demographic and mindset. It will introduce a whole new buying group into Canary Wharf; people who had not considered this as somewhere they would like to buy.”
The block will have communal heating for all the flats, a communal roof terrace looking back at the Thames and Millennium Dome and Harbord Square Gardens in front as well as the estate’s nine acres of parkland, waterside boardwalks and running paths.
But what really marks out these apartments is their lifestyle flexibility. With no walls, residents can put their bed in the middle of the flat if they want to.
“You don’t have to have any division of space,” says De’ath. “How you live is entirely up to you.The flats are going to be for those who are a little bit more design-led themselves.”
There are two sizes: 1,030 square feet apartments start at £990,000 leasehold, while 809 square feet are from £745,000 leasehold, plus service charges (020 7001 3800; residential.canarywharf.com).
They are flats that are only going to appeal to single people or couples, agrees De’ath: “Could be any age but they will need to have a younger sensibility. It won’t suit conservative tastes. It’s a bit more adventurous. There’s nowhere to hide in this flat.”
HE ALSO expects the flats to appeal to people who are attracted to the idea of loft living in old warehouses but are put off by poor insulation and maintaining an old building.
“They’ll be design savvy, switched on to interior trends and having the desire to want to create something from scratch,” he suggests. “Some people won’t have the time or inclination but for those who have never had the opportunity, this is a godsend.”
The high-ceiling apartments have kitchen cupboards with integrated appliances and a kitchen island, while the bathrooms have freestanding tubs, Crittall glass-enclosed walk-in showers and twin sinks.
But there’s no basement, no parking, no gym, no concierge, radiators instead of underfloor heating and comfort cooling is not required because of the brick construction.
When completed in December 2023, the apartments will be next to mainly pedestrianised streets around Harbord Square and high street-style shops.
“We call them The Lanes,” explains De’ath. “It will be a collection of much smaller shops, restaurants, bars and delis. Small atelier shops, a bit more artisan, arts and crafts.”
He stops short of calling it an urban village, or comparing it to Carnaby Street or Soho but who knows, by 2023 with the completion of Wood Wharf, some of us might be calling it home.