London has long been seen as a place of lofty drama, whether depicted in the towering theatrical works of Shakespeare or as the most recent setting for the unintentionally hilarious high-jinks that have surrounded the ongoing Brexit debacle. It is only fitting then that this ancient capital has added another feature to its illustrious cap with a bold new addition to its unmistakable skyline – the 33-storey-high One Crown Place.

Set just south of the city’s financial district, this new luxury housing complex is only a few minutes from Liverpool Street Station, one of the capital’s busiest travel interchanges, with the bristling neighbourhoods of Shoreditch and Old Street both falling within its lengthy shadow. Opting for a bold and striking old-meets-new approach, the development’s twin towers comprise 246 residential apartments, six 15,500sq.m floors of premium office space, a signature array of high-end ground floor retail spaces, a boutique hotel and an exclusive residents-only, luxuriously-furnished club.

In order to ensure the development is suitably regal, architectural duties were outsourced to KPF, a visionary London- and New York-based firm with a portfolio of premium projects stretching from São Paulo to Shanghai. Once on board, the company’s resident residential geniuses set about drafting plans for a building that would embody both the historic grandeur of its setting and stand as a stark reminder that this is one city that would never shy from welcoming in the future.

After road-testing more than a hundred construction concepts, KPF ultimately settled on the now-familiar prismesque silhouette. This, they believed, would optimise the outlook for each of the tower’s tenants, while ensuring as much natural light as possible filtered into every spacious apartment.

In accordance with the over-archingly modern design ethic, the interiors of each high-mounted living space have been designed to be warm, welcoming and bright, while giving a knowing nod in the direction of the area’s industrial heritage. In line with this, its oak herringbone floors are a fetching homage to the many Georgian terraces that line the nearby streets.

The building’s fore fronting of natural light, meanwhile, reaches its apotheosis in the sundry kitchen spaces, the true focal point of each residence. This sees glass-fronted cabinets diffuse the outside light throughout the interior, while the finely engineered stonework within adds notes of inherent orderliness.

Elegantly-fashioned sliding glass doors, meanwhile, act as bespoke barriers between the kitchen and dining spaces, giving owners the option of dividing or uniting their personal territory as they see fit. As befits such an alluring outlook, floor-to ceiling windows ensure sweeping views of the city below.

Warm hues then trail into the bathroom proper, which is spa-like in its majesty, complete with heated towel rails and gleaming porcelain floor tiles. All of this, though, is but an entrée for the stunning undermounted bathtub – truly a space to preen as you clean.

Proceeding boudoirwards, each chamber is blessed with the last word in contemporary wardrobing, courtesy of the fine fittings sourced from B&B Italia, the Milan-based manufacturer seen as one of the prime purveyors of high-end European furniture. Meanwhile, flexible and striking illumination comes courtesy of a series of ergonomically suspended lights immediately above the dedicated sleep space.

Promoted as a virtual extension of each personal residential unit, the seventh floor of the development has been reserved as a shared interchange space, allowing tower-dwellers to mingle and meet when so minded. Fostering the building’s incipient sense of community, it is also home to a state-of-the-art gym, an in house theatre and an extended dining room, bookable for when you just have too many peckish friends popping by.

One Crown Place’s crowning glory, though, is indubitably its exterior terrace, a dedicated al fresco area where residents immerse themselves in a full-on floral experience well above London’s often less clement thoroughfares. ‘Be in the city, but not of the city’ is surely as apt a maxim as you’re likely to find for this true mid metropolitan marvel.

Text: Bailey Atkinson
Photos: CBRE Ltd