Art & Culture
Video: Inside Royal Albert Wharf, London's new creative community
A tranquil view of the dockside. Big windows to let the light in. A period pump house still in action.
Artists have been falling in love with the studios that line the ground floor of Royal Albert Wharf, and it’s not hard to see why. Meanwhile, in the floors above the development will provide 1,800 homes, of which at least 40% will be affordable.
The cultural charity Bow Arts have been working with Notting Hill Genesis, the site’s developer, to create 40 affordable studios, known as RAW Studios and a community hub, RAW Labs. Here visitors can grab a coffee, try a chunk of plant-based chocolate by The Well-Bean Company, and maybe even take part in an empathy workshop. On the other side of the quay, there's a range of toasties and a healthy stew of the day on offer at Lock Side Kitchen.
Walking around Royal Albert Wharf, its intimate scale makes the place feel like a little haven.
Walking around Royal Albert Wharf, its intimate scale makes the place feel like a little haven. RIBA liked the spot too, naming the first phase of the development the winner in the London category of their awards this year. They remarked on the “friendly and timeless” palette of materials, saying: “The buildings are dressed in a rich brick cladding with distinctive colours identifying individual buildings.” In the same year, it also scooped the Residential Project of the Year award from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
This short film by Notting Hill Genesis and Bow Arts gives a glimpse of the new community growing here.
Curious? One, two, and three-bedroom flats are available now, and most have a view of the Thames.
