Once the home of a thriving textile and furniture industry in the 17th century, today a new creative lifeblood pumps through East London’s Shoreditch. Businesses ranging from media companies to tech startups and fashion houses have descended on the area, bringing with them an eclectic vibrancy which makes the area one of London’s most desirable places to live, work and play.
Drawing upon its Victorian heritage with characterful properties, vintage-inspired shop fronts and independent coffee houses, Shoreditch presents a unique blend of old and new. Its nightlife is now widely considered superior to the West End; with the daily buzz of Old Street and Hoxton Square bars, it’s not hard to see why. And as exclusive members clubs Shoreditch House and New York’s Gansevoort move in, Shoreditch has been given the ultimate ‘cool’ endorsement’.
It’s not just those seeking a good night out heading for Shoreditch, either. Thanks to its growing reputation as a commercial hub, co-working space provider WeWork has taken 140,000sq ft of space on Hackney Road, plus Amazon and Google have established head offices close by in a bid to tap into the talent pool of Tech City.
This in turn means Shoreditch’s housing market continues to be in high demand. So it’s with good timing that new development Long & Waterson has sprung up in a quiet enclave behind Hackney Road, bringing with it 119 brand new apartments, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms.
Originally built in 1958 as bespoke workshops for furniture-makers and carpenters, the site has also been used throughout the past 60 years by artists, photographers, fashion designers and textile makers. This industrial past has been skilfully incorporated into the design of the series of loft-style apartments created by New York’s ODA architectural practice.
The development bridges Long Street and Waterson Street and consists of two restored workshop buildings as well as the newly-built Waterson building. In the Long Street part of the scheme, the original critall window settings have been replaced with new but identical-in-look windows to bring in swathes of light. In fact, this is a feature prevalent throughout the development, with all the penthouses and even the gym luxuriating in light flooding through floor-to-ceiling windows.
An international team of designers carefully selected the interior specification of the apartments to create an understated, quality feel. With Italian designed kitchens by Poliform, Miele appliances and Waterworks ironmongery, the team strived to create unique spaces with the highest quality fixtures.
Building upon its creative setting, flexible space is a key feature of Long & Waterson. Each home includes a sliding partition that slides back to reveal generous additional space that can be personalised to you, whether you’re seeking an office, another bedroom, or yoga suite.
In a recent Knight Frank survey of prime buyers, 43% said that super-fast broadband was the most important technology in their home. IGI has subsequently installed fibre-optic broadband to every apartment, making working from home simple.
But perhaps the most unique element of Long & Waterson is its outdoor space. Designed by landscape architect Alexandra Steed, the gardens are split across four levels and include a sunken garden, podium deck and upper sundeck. Inspired by the New York High Line, the upper sundeck offers the perfect sanctuary for relaxing and enjoying the impressive city views. Lush planting and climbers will create invigorating spaces across all of the gardens, with a living ‘green wall’ at entrance being a focal point.
Much like the workspaces across Tech City that encourage collaboration, the communal spaces of Long & Waterson are designed for conversation. On entering The Waterson building, you will be greeted by the 24-hour concierge, and a library space in which to meet your neighbours, greet guests, or just relax with a book. Moving to the amenities situated across the ground and lower ground floors, the state-of-the-art gym looks out onto the sunken communal gardens and is flooded with light coming through the floor to ceiling windows. Beside the gym is a bookable treatment room, steam and sauna, plus a private cinema were you can watch movies and socialise with friends.
Long & Waterson is perfect for those looking to enjoy the best of Shoreditch and beyond. Within two minutes’ walking distance of Hoxton Station and Hoxton Square and with Shoreditch High Street round the corner, you will be in the hub of the most exciting part of London while enjoying the homely and sanctuary feel of Long & Waterson. With the famous Spitalfields market and Columbia road flower market all nearby, residents will never be short of entertainment. The development is also ideally located just a 15-minute walk from Liverpool Street Station which, with the imminent arrival of Crossrail, is set to transport customers across London with record speed.
Prices at Long & Waterson start from £675,000 through Knight Frank.