A first look at Riverstone Heights
Our new residence in Bromley-By-Bow is going to be a breath of fresh air on the banks of the River Lea
Meet creative director, Aaron David Clarke. Formerly of Martin Brudnizki Design Studio and Soho House, the founder of Barcelona-based interior design practice ADC Atelier is turning his hand to our newest residence, Riverstone Heights, which sits beside a picturesque stretch of the River Lea in Bromley-By-Bow.
When it came to designing Riverstone Heights’ interiors, Clarke drew on his intuitive understanding of hospitality spaces, gained at Brudnizki and Soho House, to inform the building’s flow, which includes a grand reception, co-working space, private dining room, 27th floor lounge and rooftop terrace. “The key question was ‘how do we make all the large spaces in the building amenable and helpful to all Way of Life’s residents? How can we give them a great experience?’” he says.
“It’s about really studying the building and understanding what we can extract or enhance from it to make each space flourish – and improve the lives of the people who will use it.”
“It’s not about my personal style as a designer. It’s about really studying the building and understanding what we can extract or enhance from it to make each space flourish – and improve the lives of the people who will use it.” This is Clarke’s specialism. It’s easy for designers to get hung up on how a building will look, without really considering the people who’ll use it, but ADC Atelier is known for paying particular attention to how a building will live and breathe over the long term.
And Riverstone Heights really will ‘live and breathe’. Clarke and his team analysed the building carefully to understand each and every space where plants can thrive, and have filled the residence with a plethora of greenery. From the soaring palms that flank the ground floor reception desk with its three storey high elevation, through to the verdant roof garden with its flashes of magenta climbers and bottle green ferns on the rooftop.
“We dug deep in terms of how we could make the space feel natural,” Clarke explains. “We know that Way of Life residents will want to be somewhere that reflects a healthy lifestyle, and with its huge windows throughout, Riverstone Heights is filled with natural light, which gave us the opportunity to go big with planting.”
“We looked at natural colour palettes and textures. The space is filled with terracottas, warm stones and ceramic colours.”
Architecturally, Riverstone Heights is modern and clean with high ceilings and polished concrete accents that inform what Clarke calls an “almost monolithic” feel. This reflects the industrial heritage of Bromley-by-Bow and the nearby lock with its tall, proud Victorian factories, but Clarke’s team wanted to soften the space’s interiors and support their planting scheme with an earthy, warming aesthetic.
“We looked at natural colour palettes and textures,” he continues. “The space is filled with terracottas, warm stones and ceramic colours. As a studio we’re based in Barcelona, so we have a network of materials suppliers in Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy. We spent months sourcing the right ceramics and creating bespoke wall tiles that decorate different elements of the building.”
The residence opens in May, and we’ll have more on the interior design to share with you soon. Read more about Riverstone Heights or to arrange a viewing simply click here.
