Park House, W1

Mayfair and Oxford Street has always been one of London's stranger juxtapositions. The former is a place of discreet Georgian elegance, full of designer boutiques and exclusive residences. The latter is Europe's busiest high street, teeming with millions of shoppers on a mission. Park House is a new mixed-use development set to transform the relationship between the two.

Imagine eight floors of office space with only six internal columns, creating City-standard spaces, including two spectacular upper floors beneath the double-height curved glass roof. It's set to be the most sought-after commercial address in London. But office space is just one element in the mix. Eleven retail units feature shop fronts twice the average height for the area, perfect for drawing in the estimated 200 million people who visit Oxford Street every year.* Then there are the residential apartments, with their own entrance on North Row – luxurious spaces in the heart of Mayfair, with Selfridges as your local corner shop.

This is the kind of opportunity that comes along once in a lifetime in this part of London – a new building occupying an entire city block. The dramatic curves of the glass exterior have been compared to a sleek racing car, elegantly maximising the available space without overpowering the surrounding area. The building also showcases an entirely new approach to commissioned art, by incorporating it within the fabric of the building itself. Visitors are greeted by a glass prism of liquid light created by Carpenter Lowings, while artist Walter Bailey has created extraordinary works in wood to adorn the exterior and reception.

* New West End Company 2010