It’s a dwelling fit for a James Bond villain...
As you approach the curvilinear building whose bays mirror the differing heights of a series of gasometers, the large louvred doors on Arlington Road swallow your car and you arrive in the cavernous garage under the gaze of sixteen closed circuit security cameras.
The Glass Building © Chris Gascoigne
Having parked you leave the garage and ascend one floor by the lift or staircase and immediately exit the building at the rear, where you are confronted by a magical Japanese water garden nearly 200ft in length. Walking along duck boards you pass over ponds with fish and fountains, as waterfalls trickle from the margins over resin rocks covered in moss.
Reaching the Japanese ornamental arch you turn into my place, which has full length glazing at both ends of the loft apartment. The glazed doors pivot open over the ponds so that the water and plants become part of the space. Facing south, the sun bounces off the water and the reflections ripple across the ceiling. It’s a dwelling fit for a James Bond villain; not that I’ve ever played one.
The Glass Building © Chris Gascoigne
The ponds, fountains and waterfalls are not purely decorative. They serve to mask the noise of the air conditioning and air extraction plant from the garage below as well as the competing city sounds of hyper busy Camden. It’s a bright, shiny refuge in the city centre and steps from Camden Market, Primrose Hill and Regent’s Park.
The original site of the Glass Building © Look and Learn
