Crown jewel: One Crown Place hosts a distilled collection of Wallpaper* Handmade projects

Joining the ranks of Mayfair, Shibuya and Tribeca, Shoreditch is fast becoming one of the world’s most sought-after addresses. Rubber-stamping the east London district’s cultural journey from Victorian slum land to 21st-century luxury destination is One Crown Place, an ambitious £500m development. Fittingly for the culturally minded concept, it currently hosts a distilled collection of Wallpaper* Handmade projects.

Intent on creating a London landmark, the project’s Malaysian developer, AlloyMtd, commissioned international firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), whose portfolio features some of the world’s most spectacular modern buildings, including the Heron Tower in London, the Shanghai World Financial Centre, and One Vanderbilt, the second tallest skyscraper in New York. KPF’s task was to design two residential towers comprising 246 private apartments (with interiors designed by Bowler James Brindley and Studio Ashby) located above a podium office space to meet the requirements of modern day occupiers who want to live and work in the same area.

A shared kitchen in the residents’ amenity space, designed by Studio Ashby

Alongside the twin skyscrapers, a sensitively restored 22,000 sq ft row of Georgian houses will be home to a residents’ clubhouse and a boutique hotel. Reflecting the tones of the Georgian buildings’ brickwork, One Crown Place’s towers will be clad in terracotta. ‘This project means a very great deal to me,’ says John Bushell, principal at KPF. ‘We are a modernist firm and embrace modern architecture, but we feel buildings should have soul, character, humanity and a rich spatial experience. Our vision for One Crown Place was to respect its context, using the buildings and materials of the past, and evolve this into an innovative design that will transform the area.’

Living room and kitchen view in a dual aspect apartment, designed by Bowler James Brindley

Reflecting the project’s cultural commitment, the development’s marketing suite is currently playing host to a boutique edition of Wallpaper* Handmade. Featuring a specially curated, distilled collection of items selected from our annual salute to creativity, craftsmanship and collaboration at Salone del Mobile in Milan, Wallpaper* Handmade at One Crown Place will include contributions from the likes of Christophe Delcourt, Agresti, Kristina Dam and Gaia & Gino.

The collection of pieces, exhibited in pairs and showcased over 12 months during 2017, is now open for viewing. Investors, entrepreneurs, high-minded homemakers, international hipsters and local cutesters, you’re all welcome. This is Shoreditch, after all…

As originally featured in the March 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*216)