Candahar Road, Battersea, London

Amidst the hedonistic optimism of rave culture, neon, flannel and the rebellious bombs of grunge and hip hop, the 1990s bore a revolution in the conversion of industrial buildings for contemporary living, when they weren’t being used as venues of course. The recognition of many former Victorian warehouses for their physical and spatial attributes gave us some of London’s finest homes. This former glass factory on Candahar Road, designed by 23 Architecture and situated just south of the greens of Battersea Park, the River Thames and the vibrant gastronomy and bars of Battersea Square, is an extreme example of that reinvention. It combines almost 7,000 sq ft of incredible double-height spaces, south-facing light, windows filled with surrounding greenery and a position so discreet, behind its own private driveway and garden, that few even know it’s there.

At the northern tip of the street, high vehicular gates open to a massive forecourt where parking for many vehicles is possible. In fact, the space is so large that the current owners had the forethought to successfully achieve planning permission in 2024 for a new three-bedroom house designed by Powell Tuck Associates; an opportunity that awaits its new custodian.

Beyond this ‘courtyard of possibilities’ lies the front facade of the L-shaped building that was once The Old Glassworks. London stock brick is interrupted by masses of glazing across just two levels, meaning the enormous footprint within is predominantly lateral.

A full-height glazed front door opens to a large foyer with fossil-limestone floors, which extend through much of the ground level and are speckled with dancing sunlight from the high-level glazing.

The concept of the space is like an architect's playground, where painted-brick walls tower through voids to reach the vaulted ceilings and elements of the second floor protrude into the ceiling space of the ground level. Beyond the initial void and overhead is the pleasingly bulbous base of a studio pod that seemingly rests between the two levels, providing light for the entrance in the evenings. Only a single steel piloti breaks the open space.

To the right is a room that has been used in the past as a formal dining room and as a yoga studio, but could also be used to create a living space and kitchen for the bedroom that adjoins it. It has some wonderful features like semi-opaque corner glazing and clerestory windows.

Organic shapes and forms are a feature of the interior treatment throughout, successfully softening the muscular industrial scale and materials. Moving through the ground floor one passes curving, ramp-like staircases, an arching kitchen island brilliantly intertwined with open-tread steps and a serpentine corridor that leads to the four bedrooms and their shared bathrooms in the eastern wing.

On this level, no less than five sets of French windows open onto the terrace of the garden and its raised section of lawn and beds. The garden measures almost 4,000 sq ft in this area and is populated with huge magnolia, rambling wisteria, jasmine, rosemary and climbing roses.

Ascending any of the three staircases to the upper level brings you to an oak-floored gallery or to the principal bedroom suite above the eastern bedrooms. Another large en-suite bedroom and separate bathroom are situated at the opposite end of the ‘L’. Between those two extremities and their mezzanines are a corner library, slightly raised above the rest of the level, and the upper section of the excellent ‘pod’; an enclosed studio, spaceship-like and distorted as though it’s fallen through the atmosphere from space.

Nearby

Candahar Road is situated in a popular residential area close to the open expanses of Battersea Park’s two-hundred riverside acres. The River Thames is a ten-minute walk to the north, as is the wonderful, cobbled and pedestrianised Battersea Square which has some great restaurants and bars like Mazar for Lebanese, Melanzana for Italian, and Vinos y Licores wine bar. Caravella on Battersea High Street does excellent Portuguese cuisine and Aspen & Meursault is a wine bar worthy of mention on Westbridge Road. Manna Dew is another lovely cafe which specialises in gluten-free pastries and is practically on the doorstep.

Battersea Park is a short walk away and is made up of a wonderful assemblage of gardens, sprawling lawns, a boating lake, the Pump House gallery, and sports facilities. The Pear Tree Cafe is set beside the lake and offers vibrant evenings of live music, with food by ex-Petersham Nurseries alumni Annabel Partridge and Will Burrett.

Laid out between 1854 and 1870 and Grade II*-listed, the park has an extensive frontage and a riverside promenade to the Thames. The Thames Path is also moments away, running alongside the river for nearly 300km.

There are numerous schools nearby for all ages, notably the Newton Prep School and Thomas’s School. A few excellent independent schools are just across the river in Chelsea. The renovated RCA complex designed by Herzog & de Meuron has also opened nearby.

Transport

Clapham Junction station is a short walk away, reaching Victoria or Waterloo in under 10 minutes and with services to the south and west of England. Battersea Park and Battersea Power Station’s underground stations provide quick links to central London via the Northern line. By road, the A3 can be picked up at Wandsworth for fast routes out of London to the West and South West.