Commendation for Best Apartment Building
GOLDERS HILLTOP
Manor Heights, Hampstead Way, London NW11 7HG
Octagon's redevelopment of the former Manor House Hospital, next to Hampstead Garden Suburb and overlooking Golders Hill Park, has resulted in a well-balanced residential community with 16 townhouses, 33 apartments, 10 affordable flats for key workers and a new nursery school. It is the apartments that received a commendation in this year's awards.
They are unashamedly luxurious, ranging in size from 1,350 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft of living space, with a designated parking space - two for each of the five penthouses - and lockable store cupboard in the secure underground garage, a gymnasium in the building exclusively for the use of residents, and electrically operated entrance gates and other security features. Not surprisingly, the selling prices ranged from £1 million for the cheapest two-bedroom apartment up to £2.9 million for the best penthouse. Even the communal entrance hall is like a private club with its limestone floor, oak panelling and toplit glazed atrium.
The ground-floor show apartment seen here was neither the largest nor the most expensive, but fairly typical, being a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with 1,562 sq ft of living space, plus a South-facing balcony or terrace (though the terrace shown in the photograph belongs to one of the penthouses).
What appealed to most buyers was not simply the security and the luxurious fittings and finishes but the spaciousness and especially the 8ft 8in ceilings. Flush internal doors are inlaid oak veneer, kitchen and bathroom floors and walls are ceramic, stone or marble, and living rooms and bedrooms are carpeted. Kitchens have bespoke cabinets and Kuppersbusch appliances, bathrooms have wall-hung Villeroy and Boch sanitaryware, and bedrooms have fitted wardrobes. The penthouses have comfort cooling to the principal rooms.
Homebuilder: OCTAGON DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
Weir House, Hurst Road, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AQ
Tel 020 8481 7500
Fax 020 8481 7501
Website: www.octdev.co.uk
Contact: David Smith, Group Marketing Manager. Email: davids@octdev.co.uk
Architects: MLRS ARCHITECTS LIMITED
Tower Point, 44 North Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1YR
Tel 01273 600688
Fax 01273 600689
Website: www.mlrsarchitects.com
Contact: Richard Smith, Architect.
Email: r.smith@mlrsarchitects.co.uk