In the grimy London aftermath of the Second World War, the Festival of Britain was intended as a “tonic for the nation”, turning the rubble of bombed out industrial wasteland into a showcase of British ideas, art and manufacturing.
The six-month festival drew 8.5 million visitors to see the temporary Dome of Discovery exhibition and Skylon sculpture that helped popularise the modern architectural style that would sweep Britain and drag it out of the postwar doldrums.
It also signalled the regeneration of the area which became the South Bank – complete with riverside walk, Royal Festival Hall concert venue, galleries and Jubilee Gardens.
Seventy-five years on, a second regeneration has taken place. Luxury apartments, including a £20 million ($26.4 million) penthouse which has now gone on sale, shops and restaurants have replaced the outdated office buildings that sprang up in the years since the festival.
It has been a 10-year project to redevelop the Shell Centre, the global headquarters of the oil company that stare at the Thames. The Shell Tower – designed by Howard Robertson, who also played a part in the design of the UN building in New York – remains as the oil major's HQ, but the three adjoining wings have undergone a 12-year redevelopment odyssey.
While the 27-storey main building has stood intact, the former adjoining blocks built on postwar modernist workplace ideas have been demolished. The complex had a full-sized underground swimming pool, four squash courts, sports club, underground cinema/theatre featuring custom artist murals and a famously large staff cafeteria.
The £1 billion development known as Southbank Place has been delivered by Braeburn Estates, a joint venture by Qatari Diar and Canary Wharf Group. Its design, by architects Stanton Williams, is described as a “modern response to the brutalist structures of the neighbouring Royal Festival Hall and the Southbank Centre”.
This week, The National was given a tour of Seven, the final building in the project, to see the 3,800 sq ft four-bedroom, duplex penthouse that marks the final jigsaw piece in the redevelopment.
Each of the 92 apartments in the limestone building is oriented towards the Thames, with large balconies and vast full-height windows.
Occupying the 12th and 13th floors, with 900 sq ft of wraparound terrace, from the penthouse you can see trains trundle below into Charing Cross, while the Elizabeth Tower housing Big Ben can be viewed through the spokes of the London Eye only a few hundred yards away.
Its riverside location, with protected gardens in front, means it has a panoramic view through its triple-glazed windows of central London and east past St Paul’s and The Shard to Canary Wharf. It’s also low enough to still see people wandering along the pavements or read the numbers on the red buses crossing Waterloo Bridge.
Its interiors have been created by award-winning British interior design studio Albion Nord. Much of the furniture is bespoke and was finished in situ, made by UK-based artisans using traditional craftsmanship. It features specially commissioned artworks, cityscape photography, 1940s-style chairs upholstered in soporifically thick wool, a stainless steel kitchen island and a hand-blown hanging glass pendant lighting the living area.
The vast majority of buyers of such properties will stick with the decor they see on first viewing, said Ben Johnson, director at Albion Nord. Besides the odd personal item, why would you change what an expert has spent the past 12 months creating?
He appears particularly proud of the fluted walls on the spiral staircase and the main bathroom’s oversize shower.
For a brutalist-inspired building, it is “not stark or too modern”, he said. “There’s a lot going on. We have been allowed to be bold, with big upholstery for a big space, showing warmth and movement. It’s a comfortable home, not a show apartment.”
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The 3,800 sq ft four-bedroom, duplex penthouse of Seven. All photos: Albion Nord -
The kitchen -
The view from the balcony -
A bedroom -
Another bedroom -
A bathroom
He also points out the utility room has the best view of any in London, while each room features a “stunning vignette” regardless of which direction the face.
So, who would be the likely buyer?
“It’s good to have someone in mind, although it often doesn’t end up like that,” said Miles Wood, sales director at Qatari Diar.
He is confident the penthouse “will resonate with buyers from the moment they walk in” and envisages the eventual owner being an international buyer with numerous properties around the globe. There is no dominant nationality within the building, with a mix of British, European and Middle Eastern residents.
He says the South Bank tends to attract a younger more creative clientele than other areas popular with the world’s super-rich, such as Mayfair, due to its culture and “place of identity”.
He cites the main selling points as its “best-in-class” design and furnishing, as well as the building’s amenities including 25 metre pool, yoga studio and gym.
Wind sheer
Being on the 12th floor, “it’s not too windy” and as the only apartment on that storey it comes with privacy built in.
Plus, “some people just love a penthouse” and there are not that many to choose from with “views of iconic, quintessential London”.
Despite the dent that has been done to London’s reputation for safety in recent years, unfairly so, according to Mr Wood, he believes top-end properties will still achieve top prices.
The difference is that now buyers are likely to be thinking long term, generational, rather than just a two or three-year investment.
“This has been a 10-year journey and the penthouse is the final piece of the jigsaw,” he said. “It’s been an interesting decade, a challenging time for global geopolitics, but people still want to buy best in class. And with its education, culture and law, I believe London is still the best city in the world.”
