Return to quarters: Chelsea Barracks
Georgian proportions, garden squares, and the restoration of the Grade II listed Garrison Chapel make Chelsea Barracks a remarkable development in one of London’s most-loved locations
Many people agree that London is the greatest city in the world, a bustling melting pot of cultures, cuisines and architecture, a place where history and modernity collide. And nowhere embodies this meeting of past and present better than Chelsea Barracks, a new neighbourhood in the heart of Belgravia, one of the capital’s oldest and most prestigious areas.
Honouring the past is key in this sprawling 12.8-acre super-luxury development, the original plans for which were redesigned after an intervention by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales. “We have gone with a traditional Georgian look that doesn’t jar with the surroundings but which is fit for a 21st-century occupier,” says Richard Oakes, from the developer Qatari Diar, the real estate company established by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The gleaming Portland stone and intricate balcony balustrades of Chelsea Barracks blend seamlessly with the long, graceful rows of white stucco-fronted Regency terraces that characterise the neighbourhood of Belgravia, designed by Thomas Cubitt 200 years ago. The ambitious development also pays tribute to its history as an army barracks. “We decided early on that we would never shy away from the past; rather, we would celebrate it, remember the soldiers’ sacrifice and how important this area was for Britain’s military history,” Oakes explains.
The Garrison Chapel, completed in 1859 and now Grade II* listed, is the only original building remaining and it has been painstakingly restored. The windows, internal plasterwork and the roof have been repaired and replaced; the exterior brickwork has been cleaned; the cracked ceramics commissioned to honour the barracks’ soldiers have been repaired with bespoke tiles made by heritage specialists and a new Barracks Bell has been cast by John Taylor & Co., the world’s largest foundry.
Today, the Chapel is a community gathering place and art gallery, with a public exhibition space showcasing the work of The Prince’s Foundation and its students. Even the garden squares nod subtly to the past by featuring the vibrant red Chelsea Barracks Rose, cultivated by leading grower Philip Harkness to echo the Garrison Chapel’s rose window, the emblem of the development.
As well as being a crucial part of the Belgravia vernacular, the garden squares are a defining characteristic of Chelsea Barracks and the whole scheme is centred around them. Five acres – 40 per cent of the site – have been beautifully landscaped and opened up to the public for the first time in over 150 years, with seven new garden squares that grow native species, as well as fruit and vegetables. “We have the space and the ambition to create something phenomenal,” says Oakes. “We’re not building impersonal high-rise towers where people may only live occasionally. It’s all about the low density, the open space; it’s about creating homes and somewhere for the local community.”
Indeed, community is at the heart of Qatari Diar’s vision for the site. “We are looking to create vibrant communities around the world and be responsible and sustainable in everything we do,” Oakes explains. Chelsea Barracks has gained LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, making it the most sustainable development in Europe and one of only 16 in the world to achieve this status. It is also the height of luxury, with elegant interior design and world-class amenities. These include the Garrison Club, an exclusive residents’ space with a spa, a 16-seat cinema, a concierge, a business suite and a billiards room modelled on a classic St James’s members’ club.
Just as Rome – or London for that matter – wasn’t built in a day, Chelsea Barracks is a multi-year project taking shape on the site over several phases. Phases one to three were completed in 2019, with over 90 per cent of completed apartments now sold. Prices for the remaining residences start at £3m, while townhouses start at £38m.
The current stage, phase four, has seen the recent unveiling of a new headquarters for the luxury jeweller Theo Fennell on Garrison Square, while The Campaner, a Barcelona-inspired restaurant, is due to open this winter. There are plans for an additional 32,000 sq ft of amenity space and new properties will be coming on sale in 2023, allowing another generation of residents to buy into their own piece of the capital’s history.
Prices at Chelsea Barracks start from £3,000,000.
