Chelsea Waterfront is a luxurious residential complex located in the upscale neighbourhood of Chelsea, on the North Bank of the Thames in London. This redevelopment project is a significant milestone for waterfront residential projects, offering an exceptionally rare supply of waterfront residential properties. The holistic urban approach illustrates how high-quality design and urban planning can make the best of limited industrial land resources. The masterplanning principle is to create a new 'village' connecting the Lots Road neighbourhood on one side of Chelsea Creek and with the Chelsea Harbour and Imperial Wharf on the other. The need to open up the site and establish pedestrian links in the surrounding neighbourhoods has fundamentally informed our proposals and the key driver has been our purpose to enhance integration and permeability across the development.
The project is one of the largest and the last luxury residential mixed-use projects on the north bank of the Thames River over the past 100 years. This mixed-use project occupies a vast 4.58-hectare site that spans two boroughs of Chelsea Bay. It consists of 710 apartments, among which nearly 40% are affordable housing, encouraging both low-income and mega-rich to move into this neighbourhood for all. The development comprises of two towering buildings of 37 and 25 storeys respectively, along with mid-to-low-rise apartments that are situated by the river's edge, surrounded by lush gardens. Notably, the historic century-old Lots Road Power Station has been preserved in its iconic form, and regenerated into a residence with retail and dining functions, eventually becoming a new place for community gatherings.
The two residential towers have been carefully conceived within the Thames-side neighbourhood context to form a powerful visual grouping, creating a pair of dynamic symbols like a dancing couple when seen from different viewpoints. The power station and the mouth of the re-generated creek are framed by the elegant 37-level south tower and the 25-level north tower, containing a mix of apartment types and spectacular penthouses under sloping glass roofs. The lozenge-shaped tower plans are arranged east-west parallel to the power station for sunlight and panorama river views. Modern technology manipulates natural stone, prime-grade timbers, luxurious fabrics, and solid metals for high-quality materials.
The Water Gardens has frontages with aspects of both the creek and the river. The building forms and massing at 4 to 11 storeys create defined streets and courtyards that open to the southerly aspect and provide a setting and contrast to the new tower at the river junction. The Rotunda is an eight-storey building located between Lots Road Power Station and the residential Tower East overlooking Chelsea Creek. The circular shape of the chimneys and the original turbines of the power station are reflected in the Rotunda's facade.
This project is significant for social welfare, economic benefits, and environmental sustainability. Over 50% of the development is amenity space, with 600m of Thames waterfront path reopened. Over 1,000 jobs were created during construction, and £6.5m was invested in optimising traffic connections, including a new bus route and riverboat enhancements.
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