Embassy Gardens is a residential and business development built by

Ballymore Group Ballymore Group is an Ireland-based international property development company. The majority of the company's employees and business activities are located in the UK. History Ballymore Group was founded in 1982 by Sean Mulryan, who is the c ...

in the

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth, with some parts (including the Nine Elms tube station, tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It lies on the River Thame ...

regeneration zone in London, England, surrounding the

United States Embassy The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 countries, as well as 11 permanent miss ...

building opened in 2017. It features the transparent Sky Pool for swimming, which is suspended 115 feet in the air between the development's prominent buildings. On 16 February 2012,

Wandsworth Council Wandsworth London Borough Council, also known as Wandsworth Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour m ...

approved

's plans for the 15-acre development. Embassy Gardens was intended to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches". In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged

Lazard Lazard Inc. (formerly known as Lazard Ltd and Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It i ...

and

CBRE Group CBRE Group, Inc. (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm with corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas and global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manh ...

to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development. In June 2017, 25 apartments were released for sale by EcoWorld Ballymore with prices for the homes that overlook a sky pool starting at £1million. The outdoor swimming pool is suspended 10 storeys high and acts as a bridge between two apartment blocks. It enables residents to swim between two buildings with views of the

London Eye The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and the most popular paid Tourist attractions in the ...

and

Westminster Palace The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the ...

. The lead architects were Sara Grohmann and Alex Whitbread, of

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (also known as FCBStudios) is a British architectural design firm, established in 1978, with offices in Bath, London and Manchester. The firm is known for its pioneering work in sustainable design and social design ...

. In March 2021, Embassy Gardens residents were reported by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' as feeling "trapped" in their apartments, with one resident reporting that the service charge had increased 58% in five years to an annual charge of just over £6,500. This was an increase of between 10% and 15% per annum, well above the UK's inflation rate of 2.9% per annum during that period.

Sky Pool

The "Sky Pool" is a swimming pool that acts as a bridge between two high-rise buildings at Embassy Gardens. It is above the ground, and it was the first "floating pool" of its kind. It is for residents, and is not open to the general public.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.482, -0.133, display=title Geography of the London Borough of Wandsworth Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Redevelopment projects in London Apartment buildings in London Nine Elms 2017 establishments in England Residential buildings completed in 2017