It was the property that Kevin McCloud referred to as ‘a monster, a beast, a crumbling giant’ and it was to be the star property featured in the 100th Grand Design show on Channel 4 in 2012.
The Water Tower was originally built in 1877 to serve the adjacent Lambeth Workhouse and had been empty for decades, with gaps between bricks, trees inching their way through the walls, and hundreds of dead pigeons inside. It was in such a state that the building was designated a ‘Building at Risk’ by English Heritage.
The property had been spotted by the new owners, Leigh Osbourne & Graham Voce, from their nearby flat at the Strata SE1,
In August 2010, Strata SE1 was awarded the 2010 Carbuncle Cup for for the worst building of the year, “for services to greenwash [those three wind turbines have never moved], urban impropriety and sheer breakfast-extracting ugliness”).
Grand Designs 100th Episode
Thankfully you can still watch the 100th Episode courtesy of Channel Four.
View the show here and find just how much time and effort it took to convert the derelict tower into what you can see here.
The Build
The couple negotiated a year’s access across a neighbouring plot, which gave the project a tight deadline. By the time planning permission was agreed, there were only five months on the clock, but an extension meant they completed in eight months.
The project featured two new-build extensions: a cube for the kitchen-living spaces, and a tower for the lift and all the bathrooms, attached to the original building via a glazed link.
A digital view inside the house
The Key build features
- There are 360° views over London from the top-floor living room of this Grand Designs water tower, which Leigh and Graham have named the prospect room.
- The Victorian water tower was sold with planning permission for the 36-metre-square glass cube and the lift-tower addition.
- The original tank was retained and holes were cut into the one-inch thick, cast-iron structure to create windows for the prospect room.
- The fixed glazing in the original design was replaced with double-height sliding windows that open up the kitchen-diner and living room which are the largest set of sliding glass doors in Europe.
- 5 Bedrooms, 2 Reception Rooms, 4 Bathrooms, first floor gym & generous garage
The landscaped open spaces
Local firm Urban Gardeners provided the landscaping and plants. Their website describes the brief for the outside space was twofold – firstly design a garden for the ground floor, plus create a roof garden for the third floor terrace.
See their dedicated Web page here
And If you like it you can buy it
It originally came on the market for £380,000 and the couple have estimated to have spent over £2M on the conversion. It is currently advertised on Foxtons for £2,750,000 and is under offer.
Visit the listing for more photo’s, floorplans and a 3D VR walkthrough Click here
Want to stay there?
You too can even experience life in a Grand Designs property by checking on their Airbnb listing – The Grand Designs Water Tower
Further Reading
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