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From The Times

December 7, 2007

1960s living

This spacious London flat by Sir Denys Lasdun is the epitome of the Sixties

Anne Ashworth

GREAT views are one common feature of the creations of Sir Denys Lasdun, the Modernist architect. The Royal National Theatre, his major design of the late 1960s, is one of the capital's best vantage points for gazing on the river. The garden flat of Lasdun's block at 26 St James's Place, built several years earlier on the site of a house destroyed by wartime bombing, looks out over Green Park. This vista is one of the reasons for the property's £5.8 million price tag.

From the flat's raised private garden facing the park, you can also ogle Spencer House, the neighbouring mansion erected in 1762 for an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales. Is 26 St James's Place itself also worth staring at? Absolutely. The block's unadorned style and Spencer House's Neo-Classical grandeur, pictured above, somehow do not clash: the first represents the epitome of gracious living, 1960s-style; the other the Regency vision of a metropolitan pleasure dome.

Both properties offer great scope for the display of architectural knowledge. For example: the horizontal layers of material and colour on the Grade II listed façade of 26 St James's Place are evidence of Lasdun's geological strata fixation.

Dan Wiggins, of WA Ellis, the estate agent handling the sale, thinks the buyers will be either a prosperous retired couple who are downsizing, or a hedge fund manager who wants to be close to the office: St James's is known as hedge fund central for the numbers of such firms based locally.

The flat, which is on two levels (or should that be layers?), would meet the criteria of both types of resident. Both would appreciate the 2,002sqft of space - there are three bedrooms, two of which have their own bathrooms.

Neither party could take exception to the decor, which is serviceable rather than swish. Leonard Design, the company that owns the flat, is happy to mastermind a makeover for an unspecified extra sum. The downsizers and the hedgie would also like the underground parking and the 24-hour concierge service. The surrounding area provides everything that either could want, including the intriguing atmosphere of StJames's Place, a spruce Georgian street where every other passer-by looks like a spook striding to a meeting at Lancaster House around the corner.

The hedgie could jog down Queen's Walk, the lane that separates St James's Place from Green Park, and then walk to The Wolseley restaurant for breakfast. At the weekend, he could take his pick among the bespoke shirtmakers of Jermyn Street, such as Emma Willis and Harvie & Hudson. The retired couple could lunch at the Stafford, the smart, small hotel on St James's Place, and shop for groceries at Fortnum & Mason or at Tesco Metro in Lower Regent Street.

It is generally forecast that, in 2008, the prime Central London market will not escape the effects of the slowdown happening elsewhere. Supersized flats are unlikely, however, to feel the same chill as houses, as lateral living suits the international buyers who do not rely on City bonuses to indulge their home-buying habit.

In this new, more bracing climate, a property's pulling power will be increased if it has some claim to fame. The buyers of 26 St James's Place will not only share a postcode with the Queen but also have a direct link with one of the 20th century's most controversial architects. The current reassessment of Lasdun's reputation would provide ample material for a long dinner party discussion.

This option is also open to the buyer of a £365,000 flat at Keeling Tower in Bethnal Green, his other major project. The view is also stunning, but Green Park and The Wolseley are not on the doorstep.

www.waellis.co.uk

www.leonarddesign.com