Lancer Square

Lancer Square represented a rare opportunity to extend the urban village of Kensington, London with a development steeped in the area’s history. Previously the grounds and kitchen garden of Kensington Palace, and subsequently the Kensington Barracks for the Royal Lancers, designs organise the 13,600sqm site with a cluster of elegantly proportioned buildings set around a new landscaped public courtyard. Four distinct buildings – comprising apartments, workspace, shops and cafes – enclose the square with an architectural language drawn from the palace and surrounding Conservation Area. Ranging from 4 to 7 storeys, three of the buildings create fifty-one 1-4 bedroom private and affordable residential apartments, and a fourth block delivers a new office building. Each look onto the new public courtyard, which takes influences from the palace’s courtyards, orangery and sunken garden. Visible from Kensington Church Street, the garden continues the tradition of west London garden squares and references the former use of the site. Two different tones of handmade brick combine with crisp limestone and delicate metalwork to create elevations which celebrate contemporary and traditional craftsmanship and establish a new destination for living, working and dining in Kensington. Lancer Square is rooted in place from the urban scale down to the final details of the development, with nature always playing a part. A series of bespoke branded elements, designed to identify the new timeless garden square, are woven into the fabric of the buildings – from the external façade, feature screens and ironmongery to the door handles and texture that is touched – with each of the residential, office and retail components of the development given its own emblem. Interiors take inspiration from Kensington Palace - from its grand proportions to its flow of spaces. The main residential reception features a procession of spaces, with lift lobbies flowing from left to right. A coffered ceiling amplifies the height of the space, and the grandeur of the palace is referenced with a gold leaf finish inspired by its ornate painted ceilings. Apartment entrances are flooded with daylight, and a rich palette of warm and luxurious materials is complemented by bespoke ironmongery. Views out of apartments are expanded upon with loggias that offer discreet but generous inside-outside living. Resident amenities include communal spa facilities which surround a swimming pool, state-of-the-art gym and treatment rooms, with visual connections designed between them. On-site affordable housing provision managed by Peabody Housing Association takes the form of a mews-like terrace and includes ten apartments and four duplex apartments. The office building features a timeless reception space with georgette walls paired with nickel lift doors and feature signboard. A bespoke nickel reception desk features an embossed vintage map of Kensington and mimics the brass desk in the residential reception. Office floors employ a simple palette with rich finishes within the WC areas, and a unique lower ground floor office features high ceilings and cathedral-like openings. Workspace amenities include spa-like changing rooms, bespoke lockers, a towel drop off and a generous cycle store.