Real estate developer Qatari Diar Europe is to break ground on the fourth phase of Chelsea Barracks – a sprawling residential quarter in the heart of Belgravia, London.
Designed by Eric Parry Architects, the complex will occupy a total area of 517, 000 sq ft (48,031 sq m) and house 97 apartments, plus a 20-metre pool, a gym, tennis courts, and a wellness centre.
Spa facilities – all created by interior design firm Goddard Littlefair – will include steam rooms, saunas, and a hair salon.
Chelsea Barracks, one of the UK's most highly anticipated – and contested – property developments, has been in the pipeline for ten years and has drawn both ire and praise from members of the public.
Speaking on the project, Sir Jeremy Dixon, one of Qatari Diar's consulting masterplanners, commented: "It's an opportunity to make a new part of London that will have historical significance and contribute to the city as a whole."
British-Italian architect Lord Richard Rogers, who was originally attached to the scheme, was replaced in 2009, following a lobbying campaign by Prince Charles.
The monarch, a well-known critic of modernist architecture, wrote to the then prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, to express his displeasure with Rogers' "Brutalist" master plan, stressing that his "heart sank" when he saw it.
The reshuffled project is expected to debut its first residential units this summer.
