British designer Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio has furnished the interiors for two duplex penthouses that Herzog & de Meuron has created within its cylindrical Canary Wharf skyscraper.
Architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron designed the seven penthouses in the residential One Park Drive skyscraper, which were the last part of the project to be completed, to contrast the commercial buildings that surround them.
“We had to think about what it means to live vertically and how to create a strong distinction between something that is commercial and something that is residential,” Herzog & de Meuron’s UK studio director John O’Mara said at the penthouses’ opening.
Located on the 56th and final floor of the 205-metre-tall One Park Drive building, the duplex penthouses feature balconies overlooking Canary Wharf. To give them a more residential feel, Herzog & de Meuron added an unusual detail – hidden internal courtyards.
The wood-clad courtyards open up towards the sky via D-shaped ceiling cut-outs and function as a “back garden,” the studio said.
Each of the penthouses, which range from 152 to 362 square metres, also feature a statement spiral staircase made from concrete poured in-situ. The staircases all have different designs.
Design Research Studio furnished the interiors for two of the duplex penthouses in One Park Drive using a combination of furniture by Dixon’s studio and handpicked vintage furniture.
Among the vintage pieces used for the design were chairs by Danish designer Verner Panton and lamps by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Dixon also custom-made large artworks for the space.
Dixon’s studio used the theme of Home of the Collector to imagine what the interiors of the penthouses should feel like.
“Each room has been meticulously curated – we wanted every single object to feel as if it has been made specifically for this space or that it has been carefully selected for it,” Dixon explained.
“It should feel personal, convincing, compelling and aspirational – we didn’t want to design a typical luxury apartment,” he added.
“The beautiful, fluid spaces feature high ceilings and large expanses of wall and windows and the artworks create the sense of a private gallery.”
Coming up with a concept for an imaginary homeowner was an enjoyable aspect of the job, Dixon added.
“It’s actually really good fun to try and invent a personality and try and work out what they would actually do,” he said, explaining that he had envisioned the apartments being filled with art pieces and furniture that had been picked up on travels.
The apartments in One Park Drive are all designed by Herzog & de Meuron with a tactile material palette that helps to draw attention to the interiors.
Wood was used to create striking details for the interior architecture, including the wardrobe doors with leaf-shaped openings.
The studio used Tadelakt plaster to create sand-coloured bathrooms with globe-shaped lights and rounded mirrors, while floors are concrete or pale wood.
The duplex penthouses are the last part of One Park Drive to be completed. The skyscraper, which contains 484 apartments in total, forms part of developer Canary Wharf Group’s plan to add homes to the predominantly commercial Canary Wharf neighbourhood.
Other recent projects by Tom Dixon include a twentieth-anniversary exhibition that featured mycelium towers and Design Research Studio’s design for restaurant The Manzoni.
