A PERFECT STORM IN PLACE-MAKING
“At the heart of every brand idea, there’s a clear story,” says Adrian Caddy, founder of the creative consultancy Greenspace, who have brought their branding expertise to such schemes in London as Battersea Power Station and The OWO Residences by Raffles.”
With a largely new-build development in a huge, new area of regeneration, like London’s Nine Elms, you get to write the story from scratch. “Even at Battersea Power Station, where you have the historic power station at the heart of the story, it’s part of a dense, mixed-use neighbourhood with thousands of new homes, plus retail and offices, and there are a lot of different aspects to sell it on,” Caddy comments.
But what about when you are dealing with such a venerated and historic building as The OWO, set in a central London location loaded with tourist landmarks and political associations? At one end of the street is Trafalgar Square, at the other, Westminster Abbey.
Across the road on Horse Guard’s Parade, you can watch the ceremonial pomp of the Queen’s Life Guard. Immediately beyond are St James’s Park and Buckingham Palace. Place-making, in this context, is a very different matter.
“In this case, it’s about the place itself, not the area around it. At The OWO, there are just 85 residences, rather than thousands, and it is a very rare type of client that will find their way to these wonderful homes,” says Caddy. “To walk through the building is a visceral experience. You can’t help but wonder what happened there when it was bustling with people of real importance, several decades ago.”
At Hyde Park Corner, a different narrative is taking shape. The contemporary, clean lines of the new Peninsula Residences are marking out its vision for a fresh interpretation of Knightsbridge living. “It’s about a brand with a decisive story to tell, that complements and transforms the location,” comments Josh Ayres of Strutt & Parker.
“Buyers being drawn to The Peninsula Residences London appreciate how the brand is shaping the future of Knightsbridge, by creating a global destination in a neighbourhood with a long tradition of cultural excellence.”
With The OWO, it’s about reinventing a place rather than ‘making’ one. Caddy describes the Old War Office building as “like a hidden palace right under your nose”. Tasked with its re-branding, Caddy needed to carve out a new identity for what once housed the country’s political and military elite – and that meant giving it a new name that still referenced the building’s original identity, “when the Empire was at its zenith,” says Caddy.
But it also needed to be brought up to date and made into a destination that people would want to visit - and, in some cases, live.
As it turned out, the answer had always been there. “We looked through old letters from the archives and the building was often known by the acronym WO at first, and then OWO. A bit like Soho or Noho, it sounded cool. Add ‘The’ and it starts to sound like a destination,” says Caddy, who commissioned a new typeface called 1906 to market The OWO in its 21st century incarnation.
Despite its location in one of the most historic and best-known locations in central London, The OWO – with its Raffles hotel, serviced residences and restaurants – will still bring something new to the area. “Whitehall is known as a place of work. The OWO will be a new ingredient in the area,” Caddy comments.
The Peninsula Residences London will have a similarly galvanising effect in bringing a new attraction to a prominent and prestigious location, overlooking the historic Wellington Arch on Hyde Park Corner, between Hyde Park and Green Park. “We make exceptional public spaces and the restaurant and large lobby will be quite a destination. There will be nothing like it in London,” says Clement Kwok, CEO at The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels. “People regard The Peninsula Beverly Hills as a home from home. It’s somewhere they go for family lunches every weekend. People will have a similar sense of connection with The Peninsula London.”
As an entirely new build, The Peninsula Residences London will have the ability to carve a new identity for part of a globally famous area.
All high-net-worth visitors to London know Park Lane, Mayfair and Belgravia – which all sit within easy walking distance of this new branded residence offering. And now they will associate those addresses with The Peninsula brand.
A number of American buyers, in particular, are showing interest in the project, says Simon Fernandes, director of sales The Peninsula Residences – and it’s no coincidence that of The Peninsula’s 10 global hotels, three are in the US, in Beverly Hills, Chicago and New York. “These are pretty multi-national people who have maybe 10 houses around the world. They are making a phenomenal amount of money in tech and finance and have £5m-£6m to spend on a London property,” he says. Low exchange rates are also in their favour. “They are almost hedging with serious amounts of money,” says Fernandes.
They are also getting apartments of a size that can’t be built in future, since the Westminster City Plan set a limit of 200sqm on new-build units, as of April 2021. “The Peninsula was able to get planning permission before the rules changed. Now it would be impossible to get for what we are delivering,” says Fernandes.
News of that sort of notoriety spreads fast. A year or so before its completion, super-prime estate agents in the capital were mentioning wealthy overseas buyers seeking something close to this world-class development. Residents living in the building will have the benefit of impeccably functioning, 21st century luxury – as well as the sense of belonging to Belgravia, one of central London’s oldest and most affluent neighbourhoods, famous for its grand 19th century terraces of white stucco townhouses and beautiful garden squares.
At The OWO, the weight of history comes with the building itself – and Adrian Caddy admits a “natural nervousness” to tackling such a project. The key, he says, is to strive for authenticity. “There is a tendency for high-end properties to be decorated with symbols of luxury such as a touch of filigree or gold leaf, but I think people who live a luxurious life are more interested in substance and staying true to the building’s history.”
“Honouring the building’s past while forging its future has been pivotal to the branding approach,” adds branding consultant Jenny Naylor. As The OWO’s owners and developers, the Hinduja family have described their reason for wanting to turn this gargantuan old government building into an ultra-luxurious hotel and homes as their desire to “leave a legacy for generations to enjoy”.
Even for Londoners, The OWO will be a new way to experience a location which they may know, but not necessarily well. “There is an element of excitement being generated. It’s more than just a high-end residential development. It’s about creating a new destination in Whitehall and it is drawing interest from owners in areas such as Mayfair and Knightsbridge,” comments Josh Ayres, co-head of London Residential Development at Strutt & Parker.
Whether a brand can create a sense of place, or whether it simply becomes an iconic building within it, is up for debate. But there are plenty of examples, says Caddy, of how temporary structures have turned into permanent venues that have imbued their location with a new identity – such as Boxpark in Shoreditch, “which is pivotal to the area’s hip, creative street fashion vibe,” he says, and Heineken Greenspace in Valencia, where Greenspace have turned derelict grain warehouses into a popular cultural venue.
The OWO, London
There are great illustrations of historic buildings, too, that have been reinvented as branded destinations, from Dover Street Market in London’s Haymarket, “now a mecca for fashionistas travelling to London,” says Caddy, to downtown LA’s Apple Tower Theatre, where an abandoned 1920s cinema is the latest Apple store to be housed in a heritage building.
The Peninsula will, most likely, create a new sense of place in a high-profile area that also has many famous associations – but which, arguably, was in need of a new landmark to attract new global wealth. Just as The Peninsula will piggyback off the history and grandeur of some of its neighbours, so they will benefit from the spotlight that will be cast upon this new ultra-luxury hotel and super-prime residences that will bring a new, younger generation of super-rich visitors and buyers to the area.
The OWO Residences at Raffles will have a “perfect storm” of Raffles branding, history and a prime location.”
And there is also room for healthy competition. The OWO Residences at Raffles will have a “perfect storm” of Raffles branding, history and a prime location, says Ayres, but there is room for the range of other branded residential schemes of varying sizes, styles and price points that are emerging in London.
Among them are Whiteleys Six Senses, a new high-end anchor for Bayswater, and the new-build Residences at Mandarin Oriental in Mayfair, one of the global luxury brands entering the super-prime ‘old’ London neighbourhood.
Each, in its own way, will become a new destination development, playing a pivotal part in local place-making.