One Hyde Park has given Knightsbridge a distinctive new residential development which relates strongly to the existing streetscape and which opens up views between Hyde Park and Knightsbridge via a series of fully-glazed circulation cores incorporating stairs, lifts and lobbies. It comprises of 86 apartments and duplexes – including four penthouses – and three retail units at ground-floor level fronting onto Knightsbridge. Additional facilities for residents include a private cinema; a 21m swimming pool; a squash court; a gym; and a business suite and meeting rooms. Nick Candy, CEO of Candy & Candy said “One Hyde Park will set a new benchmark in quality and design for residential schemes not just in London but around the world.”
A new gateway to the Park has been created by relocating Edinburgh Gate to the western edge of the site.The roadway is covered by a canopy and the top surface is planted to provide a visual amenity for all those overlooking it and protect residents from traffic noise. Epstein’s ‘Pan’ which was at the northern end of the existing Edinburgh Gate has been repositioned to maintain its relationship to the new roadway.
Along the eastern edge of the site, linking the Park to Knightsbridge, a new pedestrian route through the site – Serpentine Walk – has been created. The original Knightsbridge Underground station entrance has been relocated adjacent to Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The entrance was designed using a similar palette of materials to those used in One Hyde Park – glass, steel and concrete – creating a structure with a glazed roof and walls that appears to be both open and solid.
Renowned lighting artist, James Turrell has created a unified lighting concept that interacts with the development’s architecture. It includes perimeter lighting for the five glass stair and lift structures and a colourful light display (the LEDs are a mix of red, green, blue and white lamps that, when combined, can render every possible colour in the spectrum).
In addition, the development provides a substantial proportion of high-quality affordable housing in the City of Westminster on a separate site within the borough. Peel House, Pimlico, comprises 70 homes – 66 apartments and four townhouses – was opened in 2010 and goes beyond the adopted local, regional, and national planning policy in terms of its quality. Peel House – a former Police training HQ – is one of the largest affordable housing schemes to be delivered in Westminster in recent years.
