let the music play

The Music Box is a visually striking building. You can’t help but notice it. Cantilevered dramatically over the sidewalk is a ‘box’ containing 55 apartments. Walk along the pavement on Union Street in Southwark and you might fall under its shadow – a demand that you look up at this striking structure to ask ‘What is it?’ What it is, is one of Taylor Wimpey Central London’s latest luxury residential developments, one that adheres to the company’s ethos of creating memorable properties in London.

But first, why the name? The Music Box’s lower floors are the new state-of-the-art home to the London Centre of Creative Media and London Centre of Contemporary Music. A street-level glazed white brick facade and gleaming glass exterior defines this section of the building – with a certain pattern of protruding bricks appropriately corresponding to the notes of the Cream song ‘White Room’. Here, music is being made, while from the sixth floor onwards, music of a different kind is being played.

Accessed through a private residents’ entrance where warm tones of tone mix with glass and metal finishes, subtle references of music lead all the way into the elevators, through the corridors, up to the door of each apartment. Inside, space is generous. Ranging from 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments, the structure of a box afford beautiful views of London – Renzo Piano’s stunning Shard skyscraper, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the thorough collection of the Tate Modern, which is just a 4-minute walk away.

Designed by architect Trevor Morris of SPPARC, the exterior of the building informs the interior spaces. Vertical white enamel panels interspaced with glass windows create the illusion of towering height from the outside, modulating depending on the angle. Inspired by the keys of a piano, the design creates floor-to-ceiling windows in each apartment, allowing ample light in, with the enamel spines giving a measure of privacy and protection. Flooded with light, the apartments resonate. Particularly in The Code Collection cluster of seven apartments on the top floor, each with access to individual roof terraces. On a sunny day here, as London and the Thames stretch as far as the eye can see, it feels inspirational and uplifting. Music often is.

Units at The Music Box are still available, from £1,296 per square foot. For details, please visit this link.