125 Park Road
125 Park Road is a listed 11-storey residential block in Westminster, London, opposite the Hanover Gate to Regent’s Park. It contains 41 flats: 18 two-bedroom, 18 one-bedroom, four penthouses, and one caretaker’s flat. About 75% of the flats have park views.
The building was one of the early co-ownership projects funded by the Housing Corporation in 1964. Tenants joined a group mortgage and received a premium when they left, reflecting the increase in flat values during their stay.
Designed in the late 1960s by Farrell/Grimshaw Partnership for the Mercury Housing Society, it was the second project for the pair, who lived there. The block was listed in 2001 and praised for pioneering British High Tech architecture.
Completed in June 1970 at a cost of £227,000, the exterior features corrugated aluminium cladding, rounded corners and a sloping glazed roof. Inside, bathrooms, lifts and stairs are kept in a central core to maximise living space. Perimeter columns are hidden behind long windows to let in light, and curved corners offer wide views of London. Most walls are non-loadbearing, so flats can be combined into larger spaces.
The design treats residential space like office space, concentrating services in a central core. In 1973 the flats were highly commended in the Housing Design Awards. The building and some flats have appeared in newspapers and architectural magazines, and it is noted in guides to modern British architecture as a landmark example. It is widely regarded as the first residential block designed on the office-block principle of maximizing space around a central service core.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:15 (CET).