Disciplines

Moving Image, Visualisation, Digital

Craft

Design, CGI, Concept, Direction, Visualisation, Brand Research, Creative Strategy, Film, Photography, Website, Interactive, VR

Collaborators

Hat Trick Design, Rick Mather Architects, Conran & Partners, Eley Kishimoto, Daniel Pemberton

A visionary reinvention of a 60s icon

Not a rock star. But a building. The icon of 60s modernism that is Centre Point. Known, but not necessarily loved, by every Londoner. Designed by the legendary architect Richard Seifert, it’s an unashamedly modernist building conceived during a booming era of office building.

It’s long been a physical and architectural landmark - sitting on a busy junction where the rich texture of Soho, Covent Garden and Fitzrovia meet. Revered and reviled in equal measure, after 50 years it would take a radical vision to unlock the true potential of Centre Point as a new destination that resonated with citizens and travellers alike.

Almacantar set forth with just such a vision. Not only to reinvent the tower as a mixed use residential development, but to do it around a completely new public space. A bold idea to reinvent the perception of place.

We were part of their team from the early stages of the project to help communicate the vision to a wide team of stakeholders.

A visionary team

Almacantar commissioned The Neighbourhood to collaborate with an elite team: Rick Mather Architects; Conran & Partners; Hat Trick Design; and Eley Kishimoto; to help them bring their vision to life in the minds of many - from city planners, to investors, and ultimately to domestic and international purchasers and residents. We worked with the team through a strategic brand first approach. Paying consideration to how we could tell the most compelling and appropriate story at each stage of the development process, taking people with us on a journey, inspiring them with the vision.

The most radical reinvention in Central London

Everything we do starts with immersion. Rapidly getting under the skin of a project, the people involved, the people it will benefit, the design intent, the desired outcomes, the story, the vibe. Every detail of the vision.

Redevelopment plans often claim they’ll “transform” an area, but with Centre Point it was clear that the word was more than justified. People, new boutique leisure businesses and public space will activate the public levels in a major new public piazza. Incredible views from generous apartments would be on offer from an office building reinvented as a residential building. This vision needed to land and to resonate.

In the tower, each of the 82 apartments was to be positioned at a premium, so we also had a clear point of view on the type of people that this building was going to be talking to. Offering apartments, beautifully designed with a meticulously crafted finish, an exclusive members club, a spa, and other high-end amenities. This polarising, 1960’s “marmite” building was being carefully positioned to appeal to a very particular clientele, but also needed to be embraced by the community.

A cinematic teaser

With planning permission granted, and a long development story, unfolding over months and years, we needed to consider the phasing of the marketing story. We started with a cinematic trailer, selling pure aspiration, setting the tone for what life could be like at Centre Point. This supported early testing and generation of market interest, tantalising in detail - and definitely not a traditional development film. With models in clothes designed by Eley Kishimoto’s patterns inspired by Centre Point, we carried the viewer through a carefully curated selection of the local neighbourhoods - from public parks, to independent bookshops, museums to boutique hotels. We evoked the spirit of a calm oasis in the heart of one of the most vibrant districts in the world, enhanced with a bespoke soundtrack by BAFTA award winning composer Daniel Pemberton.

We developed and crafted every detail of the production: from the initial concept, treatment and storyboards, through to every detail of the shoot, the edit, music and CGI production.

Brand Film

Once visitors had experienced the lifestyle of Centre Point through the film, we enabled potential buyers to explore a stylised, vertical-scrolling representation of the Centre Point building online. Developed end-to-end by our in-house team, the launch website opened with the emotional positioning of the Centre Point brand using the film, and early carefully selected images.

Sharing Londons best 360-degree views

We also delivered an innovative way to ensure our discerning customers enjoyed the compelling views.

With few buildings of a comparable size anywhere near it and glass on every side, the views from Centre Point might just be the best in the capital. They are the major selling point for agents, so we designed and built an app that lets users look out over London in every direction. Gliding around a 360-degree panorama, they can zoom in to famous landmarks to orientate the viewer, and see just how stunning the views from Centre Point really are. We produced over 70 CGIs communicating from macro to the micro, featuring everything from expansive cityscapes to close-ups of bathroom fittings, through to stylised black and white architectural portraits. Every image was crafted to reinforce Centre Point’s architectural credentials, highlighting the robust interlocking forms that give the distinctive building its character.