How Artisan brought craft to rapidly gentrifying Fitzrovia
They say that when you walk the streets of London, look up. And when you walk down Tottenham Court Road to the corner of Goodge Street, definitely look up, because there’s a remarkable piece of architecture unveiled this spring that has revitalised this centuries-old street corner.
From the outside it cleverly blends what had been six single plots from different eras into one boutique residential development, renovating, repairing and enhancing the contrasting facades; from the inside this harmony gives character and individuality. After ten years in planning, I’m curious to see how they have tackled the show apartment.
Called Artisan, from prime London developer Dukelease, two of the apartments have sold and there will be 13 in total once phase two has been completed this summer. I’m taken around by Rolfe Judd’s head of interior design Katherine Nethercoat – it is a luxurious statement of calm, with funky retro-modern furniture (lighting by Lee Broom, Rockstar bar by Buster & Punch), a pared-down palette of white, creams and silvers against dark lacquer and blond wood floor, contemporary clean lines (Kitchens by Modulnova in whiter lacquer and scored aluminium), layered textures, and – here’s the thing – sculptures and paintings created specifically for the space, which you can buy or not buy as your fancy takes you.
The living area with Rockstar bar by Buster & Punch
Based on what you see here, Katherine has curated collections of furniture and decorative objects for each of the apartments individually, which you can buy as a package from around £30,000 or work with her to cherry-pick what you like, bespoke-style.
It shows how important interior design is now to the business of selling flats. Dukelease was canny enough to ask the architects, Rolfe Judd, also to do the interior design; and Rolfe Judd was canny enough to realise four years ago that having an interior-design division to complement its architecture and town-planning offerings was the complete package.
“Ten or 15 years ago architects would have been asked to do a base fitout and be done with it, and interior designers would have come in to do the furnishings,” Katherine says. “Now the London development market recognises that interiors are key and involves interior designers early in the process.”
The dining area
Rolfe Judd spoke at London Craft Week this year, and Katherine has included handmade bowls from The New Craftsmen alongside the site-specific artworks. “Craft is very much having its moment,” Katherine says, “people wanting a bespoke product and the touchy-feelyness of craft. I really love trying to balance that with this contemporary, architectural interiors style.”
The window glazing annihilates any traffic noise from Tottenham Court Road, but soon the council will too when it part closes the road to cars. This, along with the arrival of Crossrail, continues the gentrification of Fitzrovia, which along with Marylebone and Mayfair, is the "des-res" for prime central-London living.
Artisan is keen to highlight its links with the “bohemian village” vibe of the area – buzzy Charlotte Street and the foodie havens of the likes of Dabbous, Salt Yard, Hakkasan and Bourne & Hollingsworth. Where once 1930s writers gathered in the Fitzroy Tavern on Charlotte Street and drank their way down to Soho (thereby giving Fitzrovia its name), now the upwardly mobile are flocking here to grab a piece of the action – and an artisan coffee.
Artisan by Dukelease, 1 Goodge Street, London W1, from £1m.Visit artisanlondon.com.
Artisan by Dukelease, 1 Goodge Street, London W1, from £1m. Visit artisanlondon.com
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