One Hyde Park, London - Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

One Hyde Park, LondonFour pavilions face HydePark on one side andKnightsbridge – one ofLondon’s key retail areas – onthe other establishing a strongrelationship with the diverseurban context of this part ofwest London.www.rsh-p.com / © 2011

Place/DateLondon, England 2005—2011ClientProject Grande (Guernsey) LtdCost£250 millionTotal Area65,000m²ArchitectRogers Stirk Harbour + PartnersStructural EngineerOve Arup & PartnersServices EngineerCundallCost ConsultantGardiner & TheobaldProject ManagerGVA Second London Wall Project ManagementPlanning ConsultantDP9Fire ConsultantExova Warrington FireLandscape ArchitectGillespiesInterior DesignCandy & CandyInterior ArchitectBFLSPublic Lighting DesignJames TurrellMain ContractorLaing O’RourkeOne Hyde Park: The Residences at MandarinOriental is a modern residential developmentin Knightsbridge, London, on the site ofthe former Bowater House office building(originally built in the late 1950s). The siteis located between South Carriage Drive inHyde Park to the north, Knightsbridge to thesouth, and between the adjacent WellingtonCourt to the west and Mandarin OrientalHotel to the east.The development delivers 86 residentialapartments and duplexes and three retailunits (at ground-floor level fronting ontoKnightsbridge) within four interlinkedpavilions. These pavilions step up in twostoreyincrements to give, from westto east, buildings of 10, 12, 14, and 12storeys. Facilities for residents include aprivate cinema; a 21m swimming pool; asquash court; a state-of-the-art gym; and abusiness suite and meeting rooms. In total,approximately 370,700 ft2 (34,340 m2) ofresidential and 9,000 ft2 (836 m2) of retailspace is offered by the development, with139 vehicle and 114 cycle spaces across twobasement levels.One Hyde Park seeks to complementthe existing streetscape of Knightsbridgeand create a scheme that offers daylightand generous views whilst achievingthe necessary degree of privacy for itsoccupants. The project is designed to beflexible and legible. The residential pavilionsare separated by a series of fully-glazedcirculation cores, incorporating stairs, liftsand lobbies. The passenger cores areused by the development’s residents forprimary access to the apartments andpenthouses, and service cores are usedfor secondary access by staff and forproviding service access to the apartments.The superstructure of the residentialaccommodation in each pavilion comprisesan exposed, pre-cast concrete frame,expressed externally in two-storey elements.The façade system of the residentiallevels utilises a series of vertical blade-likeelements set within the concrete frame.The two-storey-high screens that form themain façade are of pre-patinated copperalloy, with the patination complementingthe colouration of building materials in theimmediate area. The primary function of thescreens is to provide privacy to residents aswell as to control views out of and into thebuilding. These screens also provide solarshading which gives depth and modellingto the façade. The façade system becomesmore transparent to views from Hyde Parkand Knightsbridge and is predominantlysolid when viewed from adjacent properties.The top levels of each block comprise twostoreypenthouse accommodation whichrelates and responds to the roofscapesof neighbouring buildings. The façadesof the penthouses have been developedto incorporate the geometry and privacyaspects of the façade system below.Edinburgh Gate has been relocated tothe western edge of the site, becoming anew gateway to the Park. The roadway iscovered by a canopy and the top surfaceis planted to provide a visual amenity forthose overlooking it. The sculpture (‘Rushof Green’ or ‘Pan’ by Epstein) has beenrepositioned to maintain its relationship tothe new roadway. James Turrell has createda unified lighting concept that interacts withthe development’s architecture. It includesperimeter lighting for the five glass stair andlift structures, as well as lighting for the mainentrance of the residential lobby’s canopiesand for the various internal elements of thebuilding. A pedestrian route through thesite – Serpentine Walk – is created along theeastern edge adjacent to Mandarin OrientalHotel, linking the Park to Knightsbridge. Theoriginal Knightsbridge Underground stationentrance has been relocated adjacent toMandarin Oriental Hotel and is positioned toalign with one of the circulation cores.In addition, the development providesa substantial proportion of high-qualityaffordable housing in Westminster on aseparate site – Peel House – comprising70 homes (66 apartments and fourtownhouses).One Hyde Park, London