The HiLight: Reframing Urban Living Through Integrated Home and Lifestyle Design

Ghelamco is an international real estate developer with a strong track record in delivering large-scale urban projects across Europe, recognised for its focus on sustainability, long-term value and environments that support contemporary patterns of living and working. AHMM is a London-based architecture practice known for its human-centred, context-driven approach, creating enduring residential and mixed-use buildings that prioritise social value, longevity and the quality of everyday experience.

Urban living is increasingly associated with chronic stress, disrupted sleep and limited access to preventative health support. For many residents, wellbeing has become something to organise separately from daily life, rather than something supported by the home itself. The HiLight responds to this condition by addressing how the built environment can reduce friction in everyday wellbeing, rather than relying on individual effort.

Rather than treating wellbeing as an amenity or lifestyle add-on, The HiLight is structured around the idea that health, recovery and daily life should be embedded into the built environment. The development combines private homes with carefully considered commercial and public-facing spaces, designed to support everyday routines, social connection and long-term wellbeing.

The HiLight approaches residential design as a form of preventative infrastructure. Environmental factors including light, materiality, acoustics, temperature and spatial flow are considered for their impact on comfort, rest and everyday use, supporting wellbeing as part of daily life rather than an occasional intervention.

 

The emphasis is on consistency rather than intensity. By embedding supportive design decisions into the everyday environment, wellbeing is normalised and sustained over time, rather than dependent on occasional or extreme interventions.

In dense urban environments, shared rooftop spaces represent one of the few opportunities to introduce restorative environments without competing with daily demands at ground level. At The HiLight, these spaces are designed as functional infrastructure rather than statement amenities, encouraging regular use and supporting contrast, recovery and recalibration as part of everyday life.

This approach is reinforced by the proximity of amenities and commercial spaces within the development. By integrating retail, food, cultural and wellness-led uses at ground level, The HiLight reduces the separation between living and daily activity, allowing essential services and social spaces to sit within the natural rhythm of residents’ routines rather than requiring additional travel or planning.

At the centre of the development is the Riverwalk, a curated promenade featuring boutique retail pods, artisan eateries and wellness-led commercial spaces. Designed to activate the ground plane, the Riverwalk integrates commerce, culture and lifestyle into everyday movement patterns, supporting both residents and the wider community.

 

Strategically positioned to benefit from significant foot traffic generated by nearby residential developments, these retail spaces are intended to support local enterprises while also contributing to the area’s economic growth. The commercial layer is designed to deliver long-term economic vitality, reinforcing Battersea’s evolving role as a mixed-use neighbourhood rather than a purely residential enclave.

A rotating programme of art installations and events will further animate the Riverwalk, encouraging engagement from residents and visitors and strengthening its role as a social and cultural connector.

 

The HiLight is located on the former site of Price’s Candles, the historic factory known for supplying candles for royal weddings. The development reinterprets this productive industrial site for contemporary urban living, balancing residential comfort with active ground-level uses that contribute to the character and continuity of the area.

As cities continue to densify, residential developments are increasingly judged by how effectively they support the wellbeing of the people who live within them. This includes not only the quality of the homes themselves, but how daily needs, services and social spaces are integrated into the surrounding environment.

 

The HiLight reflects this shift through a residential-led framework that incorporates commercial and cultural uses as part of everyday life. By embedding amenities, retail and shared spaces within the development, it creates an environment designed to support wellbeing, routine and long-term livability within the city.