With global trends for swapping, trading and skill sharing, 2012 is the year of the creative collaboration and tapping into the zeitgeist is Soho’s Apartment 58 launching next month with its first accessible work and socialising space for the creative industry.
But the Poland Street hub will be just the first of three London Apartments offering a high-tech home from home which members can use for work and play. Next up are Notting Hill and Shoreditch and plans are already underway to open three further apartments in the world’s major fashion capitals by 2015.
Brains behind the technologically focussed outfit are Alan Grant, founder of the Notting Hill Arts Club and Cherry Jam and entrepreneur Ronald Ndoro who set up DanceDigital, former incarnation of ClubTickets.com. Grant was inspired to launch the concept after seeing the late Lucien Freud, dancing at the Notting Hill Arts Club – “he had such an amazing joie de vivre even at 70, it was incredibly inspiring - his imaginary crash pad was our initial visual inspiration for the space”.
“We want to make a creative hub for the next generation, to relate to those working in fashion, film, music or design who perhaps don’t have their own studios just yet but still want a beautiful space to work in,” he says, continuing “Apartment 58 will help the industry day to day; our members can let themselves in with their own key, access the Cloud to work off an iPad or Mac, host sample sales or launches and even pick up their mail.”
“The creative industries have always embraced a seamless transition from work to play - where the lines between work, network and socialising are slightly blurred. In the current economic times shared creative spaces that offer a haven to do all those things are an obvious solution and this market is still under-serviced.”
And if the rumours are true, the club’s advisory committee may well include the likes of Kate Phelan, Alexa Chung, Dizzee Rascal and Kanye West who will invite their network of friends to become members, each of whom will receive a ‘Friendship Card’ – both a key to each apartment and a global credit charge card, preferred Apartment currency.
Bar and social spaces have been designed by Mia Wallenius – the art director at Klaus Haapaniemi has a very fashionable background taking in design projects for both Diesel and Gucci Group’s Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen - and promise work by emerging designers and artists alongside a collection of vintage mid-century classic furniture and objects lovingly curated to give the space a lived-in feel with lots of deep purple, amber and chocolate browns.
There will also be a local gourmet delivery service with menu cherry-picked from your favourite Soho locals (though there’s also talk of a club restaurant chain – watch this space) while the in-house bar team feature movers and shakers behind The Light Bar at St Martins Lane and Purple at the Sanderson. We’re moving in!
Launches 17 Feb
Apartment 58, 58 Poland Street, W1, (0)84 3523 5088
