Chelsea Waterfront

• The nation’s Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, has created a new poetry piece named The Drift at Chelsea Waterfront - his first poem commissioned for a development. 
• Inspired the luxury development’s riverside location on the Thames, the poem has been etched onto a newly opened footbridge connecting two London Boroughs. The bridge and the poem is part of the 400m stretch of Thames Pathway which was inaccessible to the public for a century.
• Visitors can also scan QR code on the bridge to listen and watch Simon read his poem aloud as they look out over Chelsea Waterfront and the Thames. [See Simon read his poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwS_xT3I_CA].

London, February 2025: The UK’s Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, unveils his first poem written for a development, The Drift, commissioned by luxury living space Chelsea Waterfront. The Drift, inspired by the Thames’ connection to the new development and to London, is etched into the brass panels of a new footbridge that not only links Kensington and Chelsea with Hammersmith and Fulham. It also opens 400m of Thames Pathway which was inaccessible to the public for a century.

Visitors can now scan an on-site QR code to access a short film or audio of Simon Armitage reciting his poem, creating an immersive experience that brings The Drift to life.

Designed by the internationally renowned architecture firm, Farrells, and developed by Hutchison Property Group (UK) Limited (HPGL), the 4.58-hectare site includes the historic former Lots Road Power Station - the oldest of London’s three historic Power Stations and the last to be developed. Chelsea Waterfront also includes two stand-out towers on either side of Chelsea Creek which were created in a diamond shape to provide panoramic views of London’s skyline and both sides of the river. They are united by the new footbridge featuring Armitage’s poem. 

The Drift captures the poetic journey of water as it weaves through the natural and built environment, likening the healing flow of rivers to the connections we build across divides. 

Simon Armitage explained: “The Drift is about water, the essential element of our planet, and I was thinking about the way we live next to, in, and amongst it. And it’s also a poem about my favourite piece of architecture – the bridge – where the solidity of the land meets the fluidity of the river.”

Reflecting on the poem’s legacy, Simon added, “The idea that the poem will last because it is fabricated into the bridge is really exciting. And to think that the lifespan of the poem will be the lifespan of the bridge. When people scan the QR code and listen to the poem, it’s an invitation to think about where you are, to enjoy the words and let your mind drift.”

The Drift, by Simon Armitage:

The way divided water gathers together

and mends - we can take something from that.

How tangled threads of rills and runnels

unknot in the river, how strict detachments

of channels and sluices eventually loosen

into a single flow.  Stalled by canal locks,

partitioned as basins and docks, tamed water

vanishes into the air, then - abracadabra - it’s

somewhere else. The egret stamps its foot

through the glazed calm but the ripples heal;

sliced by turbines then shredded by weirs

the current comes out in one piece, rolls on

downstream shipping the sky to the sea.

And all bridges rise to applaud and salute.

ENDS

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 

Kallaway

Chelseawaterfront@Kallaway.com

NOTES TO EDITOR

About Chelsea Waterfront:

Located within the prestigious Chelsea Harbour and designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Sir Terry Farrell, Chelsea Waterfront is a spectacular new development of exclusive residential buildings including the iconic Lots Road Power Station. A testament to architectural ingenuity and urban connectivity, this development meaningfully connects the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea with the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham through three beautifully integrated bridges spanning the creek.  

The Powerhouse, the oldest of London’s three historic Power Stations and the last to be developed, has been meticulously transformed into 260 luxury apartments that blend industrial heritage with modern elegance. Built in 1905 and once revered as the “cathedral of the industrial age”, for nearly a century it supplied energy to the London Underground. Now the 8.85-acre development’s cornerstone, Powerhouse boasts a soaring 100-metre atrium designed as an intimate ‘mews’ street, lined with shops, restaurants, and leisure spaces. 

Tower West and Tower East were created in a diamond shape to provide panoramic views of London’s skyline and both sides of the river. These residences epitomise luxury living while paying homage to the building's storied past.

About Simon Armitage:

Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. A recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he has published over twenty collections of poetry, writes extensively for television and radio, and is the author of two novels and three bestselling non-fiction books. His theatre works include The Last Days of Troy, performed at the Shakespeare’s Globe in London. From 2015 to 2019 he served as Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford, and in 2018 was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. Simon Armitage is the UK Poet Laureate.

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