London Penthouse With an Inner Courtyard Channels Industrial Chic

Listing of the day

Location: Canary Wharf, London

Price: £9.25 million (US$10.55 million)

Despite its place atop a London high-rise, this duplex penthouse in Canary Wharf, has a hidden “back garden” as well as curved interiors, and bespoke, cast concrete features.

The unit is located in One Park Drive, a residential tower in the Wood Wharf development designed by Herzog & de Meuron on the Isle of Dogs. It’s the largest of a collection of seven penthouses, all of which have oval layouts, soaring ceilings and enormous glazed walls to make the most of the city views.

Set on the 56th and 57th floors, the duplex has a spectacular skyline backdrop, but the interior spaces are its main focus. Its ground floor revolves around a central, sculptural concrete staircase, which was poured in-situ and sits within a gallery-style hallway flanked by two, grand living spaces. Natural ventilation comes through its balcony spaces and a calm inner courtyard that acts like the home’s back garden on the top floor.

“I wanted to create a loose feel, rather than impose an aesthetic on it as people don’t live like that,” said British designer Tom Dixon, whose firm created the interior design, at the penthouse launch this fall.

Mr. Dixon, who is known for his industrial style, has turned a bedroom into an artist’s studio space and decorated its rooms in commissioned “unique artworks and intricate bespoke designs,” he said. Many of them were made by Mr. Dixon himself and include ceramics, sculptures and wall-hung artworks, which draw on his aesthetic. It has lights by Alvar Aalto and Ingo Maurer, chairs by Verner Panton and Tobia Scarpa. and fine vintage furniture, including a one-off desk by Belgian architect Frans Vossen.

Its kitchen can be closed off with flush oak veneer cabinetry and its showpiece, a marble island, forms an informal dining table for entertaining. Glass walls in the apartment provide close-up views of the One Canada Square skyscraper and the curves of the Thames while its courtyard offers a visual change from the city scenes.

“Residents will enjoy the spectacular living spaces, designed by some of the keenest and most exciting minds in architecture and design, whilst their view of London stretches out before them,” said Brian De’ath, managing director of residential sales at Canary Wharf Group.

More: U.K. Home Prices Logged 12.6% Annual Increase in October

Stats 

The duplex has 3,904 square feet of living space. It has four en-suite bedrooms and three balconies. 

Design Notes

One Park Drive was designed by the London-based office of the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, famous for designing the Tate Modern art gallery for the Canary Wharf Group.

Clad in cream exterior terracotta tiles, the cylindrical-shaped residential tower has 484 apartments.

More: London’s Kensington and Chelsea Houses the Country’s Most Expensive Rentals

Amenities

The kitchen has Lasa Marmo marble counters and integrated Gaggenau appliances, plus a pantry. In the bathrooms, there are heated walls in selected areas and Carrara marble pill mosaic tiling. Bedrooms feature a bespoke, full-height wardrobe system in stained oak veneer.

Throughout the home, there are triple-glazed windows, a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, under-floor heating and a temperature sensor and control panel.

The building has a 24-hour concierge, an 18-seat cinema room with a private bar area, and a library and lounge on the ground floor.

On the first floor is the residents-only health club, managed by Educated Body. It includes a fully equipped gym and studio space, a 20-meter swimming pool, a sauna and a steam room, with a poolside seating area that opens onto a wraparound terrace overlooking the water.

Neighborhood Notes

Wood Wharf is a new, mixed-use neighborhood in Canary Wharf, London’s financial quarter in East London, with 3,600 new homes and other amenities. It’s a five-minute walk from Canary Wharf Tube station.

Agent: Brian De’ath of Canary Wharf Group

View the developer site. 

Write to Listing of the Day