Greenland Group, one of China’s largest premium residential developers, is launching Spire London in London Docklands, an 235.145 metre (771ft) high 67-storey residential tower, with a GDV in excess of €951 million (£800 million), the tallest in the UK and Western Europe, with concierge, retailing, residents’ gardens and five-star lifestyle amenities including a 35th floor Spa and Club Bar.
Located in Hertsmere Road, adjacent to Canary Wharf and directly fronting onto the 30 acres of water in West India Quay, Spire London is designed by architects Larry Malcic and Christopher Colosimo of multi-award winning architectural practice HoK, and by leading interior designer Nicola Fontanella of Argent Design.
The tower will provide 861 apartments of which 765 are for private sale. The private sale apartments include luxurious suites, one, two and three bedroom apartments, and three bedroom duplex penthouses.
The tower has been designed to provide uninterrupted panoramic views over the whole of London – the highest and most far-reaching ever provided by apartments in the capital – capturing the Thames, Canary Wharf, the City of London, and numerous famous and historic landmarks.
The striking and unique architecture is inspired by the nautical history of the site and by the orchid, a flower cultivated in China for more than 3,000 years. Three petals form the spire, creating faceted glass façades and nautical style ‘prow’ and ‘bow’ contours. The angled roof of the tower allows for outside terraces in the premier and penthouse apartments, whilst feature louvres allow for natural ventilation throughout the building.
Bronze coloured metal detailing on the lower floors and bronze coloured feature fins on the pair of pavilion buildings either side of the tower complement the tan brickwork of the adjacent historic buildings around the dock basin. The dynamic façades and flowing interiors provide a refreshing and appealing contrast to the traditional tower and low-rise architecture of many buildings in Docklands.
Spire London is designed so that resident and visitor arrivals deliver a memorable first impression. Around the tower there will be a new public realm with a paved piazza, entrance driveways, birch trees, sculptural benches, and to the northeast of the tower a dramatic dancing fountain, inspired by the one at Somerset House.
Spanning the entire depth of the ground floor is a through-lobby providing striking views. Designed to recall the quality and appearance of a boutique hotel, the luxurious lobby has a 6 metre (19.7ft) high ceiling, columns, feature lighting, lounge seating and concierge with an Orchid petal shaped reception desk.
Inspired by the Thames landscape, Argent Design has given the lobby an aquamarine, white and bronze colour scheme with terrazzo flooring and swirling rugs which echo the shape of the Thames.
Spire London offers the best lift provision of any new residential tower in London, with nine passenger lifts to the private apartment floors. Most existing towers provide just 4-6 passenger lifts. The waiting time for a lift will be just 30 to 35 seconds, with the passenger cars travelling up the building faster than six metres per second.
The luxurious private sale apartments are on the eighth to 66th floors of the tower with sizes ranging from 50m² (538ft²) for a one-bedroom apartment to 150m² (1,615ft²) for a three-bedroom duplex.
Argent Design has worked closely with Greenland Group to create apartments with bright open interiors with 2.6 metre (8.5ft) high ceilings in the living spaces and bedrooms, bordered by floor-to-ceiling windows.
With their curved walls, flowing spaces and abundance of natural light, the apartments will provide a stylish home, the perfect place to live, relax, entertain and enjoy leisure facilities. Features include comfort cooling, large living areas, custom-designed open-plan bespoke kitchens and boutique hotel-style bathrooms with high quality finishes in natural materials including timber and stone.
The premier and penthouse apartments are on floors 56 to 66 with features including designer kitchens with breakfast bars, 2.625 metre (9.2ft) high ceilings and walk-in dressing rooms in selected apartments. The angled roof provides the premier and penthouse apartments with the opportunity to use the outside space as private roof terraces.
Spire London will provide a range of outstanding five-star lifestyle amenities. The 35th floor Spa will include a 465m² (5,000ft²) pool room with swimming pool with infinity edge, lounge areas and a Jacuzzi, and a place for leisure and relaxation whilst enjoying stunning views over London. There is also a 185m² (2,000ft²) gymnasium and fitness studio. Changing facilities are available too.
The Club room has a central cocktail bar, lounge seating and feature wine displays. The cinema room provides the perfect venue for entertaining family and friends, and has automatic curtains/blinds to reveal - or provide privacy from - the far-reaching City views.
The second and third floors provide community space for residents including meeting rooms, a games room and music/learning/cultural space. The third floor also incorporates an open deck which forms a residents’ garden. To either side of the tower are the three-storey pavilion buildings providing 500m² (5,382ft²) of high quality retail space with residents’ roof-gardens above. The pavilion roof-gardens and third-floor garden deck provide 929m² (10,000ft²) of private gardens for residents.
At night, feature lighting around the top of the tower will reinforce the landmark silhouette of Spire London, complemented by accent lighting to the trees, benches and paved piazza, creating a striking impression to the approach to the building after dark.
The construction of Spire London is underway. Above-ground demolition works at the site have already been undertaken. Piling for the tower will begin in January 2017 with the tower scheduled to reach the halfway point in height during the summer of 2018. Build completion is scheduled for 2020.
Yuliang ZHANG, Chairman and President of Greenland Group said: “Spire London will create a new iconic landmark on the London skyline. This tower will be Western Europe’s tallest residential building and underlines London’s enduring status as a world-class city and destination. This is Greenland Group’s most important project in Europe, and will deliver exceptional new homes for Londoners. Greenland Group operates across four continents and is a global leader in delivering high-rise residential buildings, and has already built or is developing four of the ten highest buildings in the world.”
Wenhao QIAN, Managing Director of Greenland (UK) Investment Ltd said: “This important launch reflects the confidence that Greenland Group continues to have in both the London economy and the London property market. We believe that there is always a demand for ‘best in class’ property assets that offer a high quality, bespoke, designed and unique product in a prime location. In our view Spire London fulfils these criteria, and we believe there will be significant demand for the apartments within this tower from both the UK and overseas.”
Peter GIBNEY, Director at JLL said: “Spire London is exceptionally well located, on the doorstep of Canary Wharf, London’s financial hub, as well as providing easy access to the City of London and the UK stock exchange centre. The tower is just a short walk from Canary Wharf underground station (Jubilee line) and Canary Wharf and West India Quay DLR stations, providing access to Bond Street, Bank and City Airport within 15 minutes, and has the added benefit of the new Crossrail Link due to open in 2018.”
Matthew LEITCH, Senior Director at CBRE said: “With its record breaking height, unrivalled views and dynamic architecture, Spire London is distinctly different to any other project being launched in Docklands. It stands apart from the current competition and we believe will attract buyer interest from both end-user and investor buyers from the UK and overseas.”
On Thursday 13th October the public launch of Spire London will take place in the state-of-the-art sales exhibition suite created by Argent Design in Warehouse Number One, directly adjacent to the development site in Hertsmere Road. Apartments at Spire London are priced from £595,000 (999-year leases, virtual freehold).
