A tour of a luxury residential development – One Park Drive in Canary Wharf.
There is so much more to Canary Wharf than meets the eye. I’ve always thought it was just a financial hub with large banks and offices.
My perception have since changed following a visit to the area.
There is a real buzz in the air. The restaurants are amazing, there are many creative events, and don’t get me started on the shopping choices. Above all, it is a local community too.
There is a palpable sense of economic and social regeneration in the more deprived surrounding areas. Their ‘Making Sustainability Real’ report made interesting reading, particularly on how they have tackled problems with initiatives to help their local community and environment.
I was interested to find out that Canary Wharf had reclaimed 23 acres of land – Wood Wharf.
Wood wharf is being master planned by Allies and Morrison Architects. It will soon welcome in 3600 new homes, 380000 sq ft of retail space, 8 acres of public spaces, plazas and parks.
There will also be boutique malls,public art, an NHS surgery and a primary school.
Wood wharf has now reached a prominent milestone in its development with the installation of Water Street bridge, which connects the original Canary Wharf estate to the new district.
Last week, I got to see the progress being made on One Park Drive, one of Canary Wharf’s landmark residential building in Wood Wharf.
One Park drive is positioned at the head of the dock and is designed by renown architects Herzog & de Meuron who also designed the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, China.
It will have 58 storeys and 483 apartments. Since the launch in May 2017, over 60% of the development have already been sold.
The development will include state of the art amenities designed by GA Design. The reception, concierge, lounge, library and cinema are located on the ground floor.
There will be an exclusive health club, including a 20 metre pool, gym, studio space and spa with stunning park views from the first floor.
One Park Drive offers three typologies of apartments : the Loft, Cluster and Bay. I’ve labelled the photo to give you an idea.
Each apartment has a balcony offering generous views over the surrounding docklands and across London.
Here is one of the Cluster apartments. The interiors have been designed by Goddard Littlefair.
The Cluster apartments comprise one bedroom.
There was certainly no shortage of storage with a wall of cupboards.
I love how mirrors were used to make the corridor seem wider.
This kitchen within the open planned space of the Cluster apartment is just so elegant.
I particularly like how the doors can be folded into slots when opened. That’s such a clever idea for small space living.
This is the kitchen in one of the Bay apartments.
The Bay apartments usually have 2 bedrooms. This is the larger one.
This is the second bedroom. Again, there are ample wardrobe space and clever use of mirrors.
Here is a Loft apartment designed by Bowler James Brindley.
Here’s another view.
The Loft apartments have wraparound terraces with beautiful views of the outdoor green spaces and waterfront.
Sliding doors acting as walls can be slid back to create a larger sense of space and to maximise lighting.
How cool is this feature? If you want privacy, then simply slide shut the doors and cloud up the glass panels with a flick of a button.
I haven’t shown you all the bathrooms in the apartments, but believe me they are spectacular.
I particularly adore this cylindrical shower room sandwiched between a luxury dressing room
and a stylish bathroom.
Here is one of the terrace spaces of the Loft apartments.
It’s great to have a large outdoor space in an apartment don’t you think?
Everything about this set up is lovely. I can see our family sitting there in the Summer.
Behind the table is a gorgeous terracotta cladding that also adorns the building.
So, what do you think? I’m seriously tempted. I can’t wait to go back to see One Park drive when it’s all completed.
( All photography are by Geraldine Tan, editor of Little Big Bell. The blog post is not a sponsored piece. All opinions are my own).