Does STAY Camden hint towards the future of urban living?

e’ve followed the twists and turns in the fortunes of Camden Town’s Hawley Wharf area at close hand for the best part of 15 years.

From run-down flea market to rejected plans for an overbearing redevelopment, then the huge fire of 2008, another short-lived market, this abandoned period as a street art mecca and finally a vast demolition-turned-construction site in more recent years.

Therefore it’s exciting to finally see the finished buildings begin to open, especially as they are home to a groundbreaking new idea, which aims to grow from Camden and be seen in other cities across the world soon too.

STAY is a new urban living concept from the same people that operate the industrious LABS co-working spaces in neighbouring Camden Market.

It is a key part of the LABS Collective’s visionary live/work concept – offering long and mid-term serviced apartments fitted out with the very latest tech and design-led interiors.

STAY provides 169 homes for those wanting a truly hassle-free living experience, with either one, two or three bed options and no lengthy contracts – a lot like the co-working model, but for apartments.

It’s therefore also an attractive place for visitors looking for a more communal way of living when fully immersing themselves in one of London’s most famous neighbourhoods.

Being situated in a collection of fetching canalside blocks right at the heart of Hawley Wharf, it looks set to cleverly blend home comforts with boutique hotel luxuries.

When the whole site fully opens next year, it’s certainly going to be a vibrant place to live, with over 50 new food and drink and retail operators, a farmers market and cinema among the incoming facilities downstairs.

Meanwhile nearby, a brand new eco-focused container market at Buck Street just down by Camden Town tube is about to open too. And the new canal-front quarter should one day also be linked to King’s Cross via London’s very own High Line, a proposed park along disused railways tracks that run past the STAY apartments.

Whether it’s for exploring the city or laying down some more permanent roots, STAY Camden seems to be offering a genuinely new approach to where and how we live. It will be fascinating to see the concept expand, and the ways that serviced living being pioneered here in Camden Town spreads to urban hotspots across the globe.