Chelsea Harbour Living

Chelsea Crescent was clearly built with one aim in mind – giving its owners great views along the Thames, and cramming in as many balconies over the river as possible. A concave crescent gives more frontage than a straight one. From the outside, Chelsea Crescent is virtually nothing but balcony.

Chelsea Crescent has a raised ground level with front gardens and patios extending further out than the rest of the building. The building rises in height, gathering storeys, from the Belvedere side where there are six storeys, to the river edge where there are eight storeys. All the windows are set back several feet within Chelsea Crescent, so that there is a patio terrace in front and the terrace above provides a roof to the patio of the flat below. There is a narrow frontage at the Thames path end of Chelsea Crescent where there are more balconies. The balconies themselves are in off-white concrete and the window structure behind is uniformally painted grey. There are white metal rails along the balconies with glass panels for protection.

The Yacht Club makes a straight line along the Thames path, and the space to the concave front of Chelsea Crescent behind is filled up by a private garden.

The back of Chelsea Crescent looks at the railway line which rises onto a bridge and crosses the Thames at this point. The trains don’t move fast so it probably isn’t too noisy. On this side, there are no balconies: the windows are flush with the wall. But there are four staircase extensions protruding from Chelsea Crescent at the middle and either end. These contain spiral staircases which you can see through the glazed panels, and the structure is painted striking blue.

Near the Belvedere end of Chelsea Crescent, the flats look out over the rear entrance of Harbour Yard, where there are some attractive flower beds.

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