INTRODUCING SOME OF THE FINEST RESIDENCES ON EARTH – STUNNING STRUCTURES INSPIRED BY LOCAL LANDSCAPES AND COMMUNITIES ARE BREAKING NEW GROUND IN BUILDING DESIGN TO PRESENT BILLION-DOLLAR BENCHMARKS FOR AFFLUENT LIVING AROUND THE WORLD
It takes a particular combination of resources, vision and passion to create a genuinely innovative, architectural icon. Yet the world’s biggest property developer, Wanda Group, seems to hold the key to this secret formula, delivering a series of striking, beguiling new landmark residences in some of the world’s most desirable locations. With vaulting design ambitions to match the buildings’ scale, values and lavish finishes, the three projects highlighted here illustrate why innovation should be at the heart of luxury, and what can be achieved when specialist teams of world-class architects and designers are given licence to think on a bold and global scale.
JEWEL, GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
Three glittering towers are rising from the sands of Surfers Paradise, with a view to becoming a global design landmark to rival Bilbao’s Guggenheim, Dubai’s Burj al Arab, Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers and London’s Lloyds Building.
Designed by renowned architect Chad Oppenheim – creator of homes and buildings for the likes of Pharrell Williams, Michael Bay, plus many hyper-luxury resorts around the world – and Australia’s own Barry Lee of DBI Design, Jewel’s crystal towers rise up to 46 storeys and will command this stretch of Australia’s golden playground in opulent style.
Inspired by the Gold Coast’s endless ocean and sweeping white sands and how that dramatic landscape was created thousands of years ago, Jewel’s faceted architecture is at once extraordinary and familiar. “Smoky quartz crystals, discovered on the western side of Mount Warning, were scanned in 3D and then scaled up to generate the sculptural form of the building,” explains Lee. “The crystalline forms of the towers are a direct representation of the underlying geology of the Gold Coast.”
Inside Jewel’s sumptuous apartments, crisp architectural lines are tempered with soulful organic materials to create spaces that deliver elegant grandeur with authentic character. Washed driftwood grain flooring, onyx and marble surfaces and natural-stone finishes work with custom-made fittings, premium-brand appliances and the latest home technologies to deliver living spaces that match the infinite ocean views and beachfront location.
ONE NINE ELMS, LONDON, UK
Wanda’s first international project – One Nine Elms in central London – is a major event, creating one of the tallest residential towers in Western Europe and forming the gateway to the biggest regeneration project in the British capital.
A pair of glittering monolithic towers, designed by leading international architecture practice Kohn Pedersen Fox, soar up to 656 feet on the south bank of the River Thames to herald a new cultural destination that stretches from the new United States Embassy to Battersea Power Station. Once completed, the 481-acre district is set to rival Mayfair for luxury amenities and cultural attractions.
As is fitting for such a significant and ground-breaking enterprise, Nine Elms is home to some of the most innovative new architecture in Europe. And Kohn Pedersen Fox’s Nine Elms delivers a fitting – and compelling – threshold to this vibrant new design destination. Acres of shimmering glass reflect awe-inspiring views across London, while a grand double-height entrance foyer for residents is a powerful statement of what interiors – created by the much-celebrated United Design Partnership – deliver.
VISTA, CHICAGO, USA
Chicago’s third-tallest building literally has no parallels. Globally-acclaimed local architect Jeanne Gang took the geometries of fluorite as her inspiration for the design of Wanda’s Vista development in the affluent Lakeshore East area of Downtown Chicago, creating an extraordinary triple-tower formed of a series of stacked trapezoids, pulsating 1,186 feet into the skies.
This geometric structure allows the building – which will house 406 luxury residences as well as a 5-star hotel once completed in 2020 – to both shimmer with crystalline brilliance and to reflect the colours and depths of Lake Michigan, which it overlooks. No fewer than seven different shades of glass – ranging from blue-green to grey – will be used in horizontal bands to make the three connected towers appear to undulate, creating a softer silhouette that reflects the natural beauty of a prime waterfront location, while retaining an elegant tessellated simplicity.
The crystal theme will continue inside, where prominent interior design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates has created four distinct palettes, each inspired by a different gemstone. From Amethyst’s romantic violet tones to Sapphire’s cool modernism, all Vista’s apartments will be finished to an exemplary standard with integrated home technology and bespoke fittings designed to make this extraordinary structure as beguiling to live in as it is to look at.
