The Crown Estate has announced the winners of its hotly contested 'Ground Floor Project', which will now see designer Lola Lely and architecture practice RCKa create bespoke artworks for the lobbies of two landmark buildings in London’s St James’s neighbourhood. The mystique of unrealised projects, however, can be just as tantalising (think Le Corbusier’s ambitious Ville Contemporaine), so here, we take an exclusive look at all of the proposals, including the shortlisted designs by Formafantasma, Simon Hasan, Philippe Malouin and Faye Toogood.
The West End's largest property developer, the Crown Estate, tapped into its formidable resources (fueled by a multi-billion pound portfolio it manages for London) to set up the Ground Floor Project, with support from the non-profit Architecture Foundation. The scheme's brief called on designers to pay homage to St James's rich craft-based heritage with a unique artwork that will be placed in the reception areas of 12 Charles II Street and 11 Waterloo Place.
A panel of judges – including Wallpaper* Editor-in-Chief Tony Chambers – ultimately awarded the 11 Waterloo Place commission to RCKa for its ‘Acoustitch’ installation. Made from high-density foam in a Technicolor array of hues, the acoustic board celebrates the area’s tradition of bespoke tailoring. Vietnamese-born, East London-based designer Lola Lely, meanwhile, delved into the archives of John Lobb Bootmaker, using its shoe patterns as a springboard for her winning proposal for Charles II Street. Entitled ‘The Cosmology of St James’s’, the hanging kinetic piece is composed of bespoke ‘satellites’ made from materials such as leather, glass and metal.
Faye Toogood’s entry paid tribute to Pomeroy’s sculptural triptych on the original façade of 12 Charles II Street, with an abstract still life installation crafted from security mesh and polished brass. London-based designer Simon Hasan, meanwhile, proposed a kinetic sculpture comprising scaled up and abstracted tools commonly used amongst the trades central to St James’s history, such as millinery and perfumery.
‘Track’ by Canadian designer Philippe Malouin aimed to reveal the core of 11 Waterloo Place and was ‘inspired by a meticulous photo essay of the building’s details’. Marble, sandstone, glass and steel shapes are suspended from tracks that move slowly throughout the day, overlapping each other.
Channeling St James’s storied history, Formafantasma devised a wall-mounted deconstructed clock installation. ‘From then on’ threads together brass and marble with perfume, barber's brushes, leather and leather-making tools collected in three shops of the area. The installation offered a uniquely multi-sensory experience amongst all the entries with the proposed addition of a fragrance from the perfumery Floris. A drop of the perfume would be released each hour of the day on a block of salt, visualising the passing of time.
Just Lola Lely and RCKa's works will come to fruition, but the sketches and renderings by the other shortlisted designers are artworks in their own right.
Made from high-density foam in a Technicolor array of hues, the acoustic board celebrates the area’s craft-based tradition of bespoke tailoring
Vietnamese-born, East London-based designer Lola Lely scooped the contest's second commission. Entitled 'The Cosmology of St James’s’, the piece draws from the archives of John Lobb Bootmaker, using its shoe patterns as a springboard for her winning proposal for Charles II Street
The hanging kinetic artwork is composed of bespoke ‘satellites’ made from tailoring patterns and materials such as leather, glass and metal
Material samples from Lely's sculptural mobile
A working sketch of Lely's winning design illustrates its mechanics
Philippe Malouin was one of six shortlisted designers in the Crown Estate's scheme. His proposed 'Track' installation comprises marble, sandstone, glass and steel shapes are suspended from tracks that move slowly throughout the day, overlapping each other
Faye Toogood’s entry paid tribute to Pomeroy’s sculptural triptych on the original façade of 12 Charles II Street, with an abstract still life installation crafted from security mesh and polished brass
The main central head has a finely sculpted face, representing the main female figure on Pomeroy‘s façade sculpture. The two accompany heads are more abstracted sculptural pieces intended to give importance to the main figure
London-based designer Simon Hasan, meanwhile, proposed a kinetic sculpture comprising scaled up and abstracted tools commonly used amongst the trades central to St James’s history, such as millinery and perfumery
Design studio Formafantasma devised a wall-mounted deconstructed clock installation, named ‘From then on’
The installation threads together brass and marble with perfume, barber's brushes, leather and leather-making tools collected in three shops around St James's
Formafantasma's proposal offered a uniquely multi-sensory experience amongst all the entries with the addition of a fragrance from the perfumery Floris. A drop of the perfume would be released each hour of the day on a block of salt, poetically visualising the passing of time
-
Faux fur and shearling dominated the A/W 2025 runways – these ten pieces capture the material’s ‘raw glamour’Embrace the season’s twisted glamour with these arresting pieces in imitation fur and shearling, from Simone Rocha’s faux fur-covered Mary Janes to colourful-hued shearlings from Gucci, Alaïa and Jacquemus
-
The Grand Egyptian Museum – a monumental tribute to one of humanity’s most captivating civilisations – is now completeDesigned by Heneghan Peng Architects, the museum stands as an architectural link between past and present on the timeless sands of Giza
-
Meet Forefront, a cultural platform redefining the relationship between art and architectureForefront co-founder Dicle Guntas, managing director of developer HGG, tells us about the exciting new initiative and its debut exhibition, a show of lumino-kinetic sculptures in London
