London's South Bank has been a popular cultural destination for decades, from the 1951 Festival of Britain to today's pick of high profile performance and art spaces along the Thames. The area's ambitious new development, Southbank Place - launched by the Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar earlier this summer - is set to bring a new retail, entertainment and residential hub to the area, and the developers behind it have just unveiled the first tantalising interiors.
Sitting around the site of the iconic 5.25 acre Shell Centre (which is itself part of the scheme), the large-scale project comprises seven new buildings, featuring retail, hospitality and public spaces, and totalling a striking 868 residential properties. The complex is linked to the river via a park, with its ground floor levels primarily covered by retail and the westerly and easterly facing buildings housing the residential elements.
The first residential project to launch - which will also be the tallest on the Southbank Place masterplan - is One York Square. Designed by Squire and Partners and interior designers Johnson Naylor, One York Square is deliberately set back from York Road to allow breathing space for pedestrians and will include from studio apartments, to three-bedrooms and four penthouses. 'It is divided into four tiers, with the number of apartments decreasing as the structure ascends', explain the developers.
'In order to make the building as elegant as possible we decided to express the structural frame,' says Squire and Partners' Murray Levinson. Its slim and sleek masonry exterior will feature intricate bronze details in the shape of special glass panels embedded with a bronze mesh, which cleverly allows views out without letting views in from the street. Meanwhile its skeleton reduces in thickness the higher it gets for an overall elegant effect.
Another key element for the architects was to enhance the site's stunning vistas and make sure all apartments get plenty of light and open space. For this they worked closely with Johnson Naylor, who worked on the apartment interiors. They aimed to keep the spaces 'as open as possible', paying special attention to each flat's layout. A striking two thirds of them will be dual aspect. It was important to create an interior that it refined and distinct, explain Johnson Naylor, while at the same time being able to accommodate the new owner's personality.
More high profile architects are involved in the master plan's other designs, including Kohn Pedersen Fox, Patel Taylor, Stanton Williams, GRID, Townshend Landscape Architects, and interior designers Goddard Littlefair. For One York Square, the sales launch on the 17 September.
The mixed use Southbank Place comprises seven buildings, totalling a striking 868 residential properties
The first of the seven buildings to be developed is One York Square, which will comprise apartments of different sizes as well as four penthouses
Upon completion, One York Square will be the tallest residential element within the Southbank Place masterplan
Architects Squire and Partners worked in close relationship with Johnson Naylor to create the project's different interior arrangements
The development, which sits on the site of the former home of the Festival of Britain, is scheduled to complete in 2017
-
Glamping on the Greek riviera: an alternative resort rooted in luxuryWe check in at the 91 Athens Riviera; an alternative seaside glamping resort in the Greek capital that is all about relaxed luxury
-
Inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe, Saint Laurent’s surprise menswear show captured ‘a menacing, seductive elegance’Staged at Paris’ Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection, Anthony Vaccarello mashed up Rive Gauche elegance with Robert Mapplethorpe-inspired kink for his A/W 2025 Saint Laurent menswear collection
-
Armani Privé celebrates 20 years with a glittering show staged at the house’s opulent new Paris palazzo‘Creating is my reason for existing,’ says the 90-year-old Giorgio Armani, whose Armani Privé show in Paris last night (28 January 2025) was a shimmering ode to the art of haute couture
-
2025 Serpentine Pavilion: this year's architect, Marina Tabassum, explains her designThe 2025 Serpentine Pavilion design by Marina Tabassum is unveiled; the Bangladeshi architect talks to us about the commission, vision, and the notion of time
-
We celebrate the emerging London architects to be excited aboutThese emerging London architects are some of the capital's finest ground-breakers, movers and shakers; heralding a new generation of architecture
-
From a mobile pub to a thatched canopy: Japanese architecture and craft explored at AA show in London'Distillation of Architecture', a new AA show in London, pairs architects with materials and makers in an exploration of craft through the Japanese lens
-
A library in a London telephone box? This is a charming reading nook full of surprisesSet in a restored London telephone box, Upper Street Little Library is a cosy beacon to encourage reading to the wider community
-
This revamped east London terraced house is a music lover’s dreamAn east London terraced house gets a boost of personality and sustainability thanks to Archmongers, whose transformation makes room for the owners’ creativity and extensive record collection
-
This elegant infill project slots beautifully into the London streetscapeIn this infill project, a row of garages in Blackheath, south-east London, has been replaced by a contemporary family home by local practice Mailen Design
-
Don’t Move, Improve 2025: the 14 London homes adding design oomph to the everydayThe shortlist for Don’t Move, Improve 2025 has been announced, revealing 14 residential projects across London that add value and pizazz to their inhabitants’ daily lives
-
Space House: explore the brutalist London landmark’s new chapterSpace House, a landmark of brutalist architecture by Richard Seifert & Partners in London’s Covent Garden, is back following a 21st-century redesign by Squire & Partners and developer Seaforth Land
