Remarkable and groundbreaking, a residential complex that exceeds all preconceptions of luxury.
One Hyde Park- Duration: 2006-2011
- Project Partners: Candy & Candy, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
- Client: Project Grande Limited
- Category (Sector): Residential
One Hyde Park is a complex of 86 apartments thought to be the world’s most expensive. Nestled in the heart of Knightsbridge, the residents of the development have Hyde Park for a back garden and Harrods for a corner shop.
Boasting a gym, a pool, a cinema and golf simulator this luxurious complex set a new standard for residential developments worldwide. The levels of innovation in engineering on this project emphasise our unwavering commitment to providing our clients with smart construction solutions to deliver certainty. There is lighting that changes throughout the day and geothermal boreholes to sustainably control the building’s temperature, as well as a private underground tunnel to the neighbouring Mandarin Oriental hotel and 24-hour access to its services and facilities.
Developed by PGGL (a joint venture between Christian Candy’s CPC Group and His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani) with architects Lord Rogers and Graham Stirk, One Hyde Park has a behind-the-scenes story unlike anything seen before in construction.
The architect, Lord Rogers, remarked that the build quality was the finest he had seen anywhere in his 50-year career. One Hyde Park exemplifies Laing O’Rourke’s integrated supply chain capabilities with nine of our businesses involved in the design, build and fit-out.
Remarkable and groundbreaking: a residential complex that has set new standards of quality and luxury for developments not just in London, but around the world.
Engineering excellence
A top-down construction approach meant building both up and down simultaneously from the ground floor slab – in this case the four-storey basement was excavated from below. This technique enabled significant time savings to be made in an extremely busy part of London.
Environmental awareness
An anaerobic composter used during the temporary works enabled the recycling of onsite waste, reducing the amount sent to landfill. Concrete from the previous structural foundations was crushed on site and reused as part of the piling mat. It was estimated that this saved around 20 lorries per day coming to the site over a period of more than 100 days.
We provided boreholes for ground source heating to minimise the use of individual gas/electric boilers within apartments. As this was decided at an early stage in the design, it was possible to minimise installation costs by integrating the 50m deep boreholes with the foundation piling.
July 2006
Expanded begins work on the demolition of Bowater House at 68-114 Knightsbridge. Around 21,000m 3 of concrete, 4,300 tonnes of steel and 70,000m 3 of earth are removed.
January 2007
Substructure work begins on One Hyde Park.
July 2007
Top-down construction begins: the above-ground structure is developed at the same time as the basement walls, with excavated material removed through “mole holes” in the ground-floor slab.
July 2008
Candy & Candy signs off the materials and quality standard of a replica apartment built in Hendon, north London.
March 2009
The topping out ceremony is celebrated by Christian Candy and Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim on behalf of his father, the prime minister of Qatar, an investor in the project.
April 2009
Fit-out work begins.
January 2010
One Hyde Park is officially unveiled by PGGL. Already, 60 per cent of the apartments have been bought.
Intelligent logistics – crucial and flawlessly executed
At peak there were 2,000 people working on site and up to 200 vehicle movements per day. Materials movement was a serious challenge, as the building occupies 88% of its plot in a busy central London location.
During the construction and fit-out period there was no possibility for onsite storage, and tight synchronisation of deliveries using just-in-time methods was essential.
The result
Using modern methods of construction, and creating detailed designs at a very early stage, we streamlined the construction process resulting in straightforward assembly on site. We used natural, organic materials and successfully worked to unusually tight tolerances and quality specifications.
A combination of the best features of offsite production technology, together with skilled craftsmen on site, allowed us to overcome seemingly unworkable specification requirements and produce a project that surpassed all expectation.
of waste recycled
vehicle movements daily
operatives on site at peak