A new residential development in London’s King Cross incorporates three Grade II-listed, cast iron gasholder guide frames that were originally constructed in 1867. The three residential buildings are housed within the frames at varying heights as a reference to the movement of the original gasholders, which were dismantled and removed in 2001.
The new development provides 145 apartments, a private gym and spa, a business lounge, and an entertainment suite with a screening room, bar reception area, and private dining room. The apartments are accessed through a central courtyard. Each residential drum has its own atrium and core, which are linked by a series of circular walkways.
Courtesy Wilkinson Eyre.
The apartment units make use of the circular shape of the buildings by placing the living rooms and bedrooms at the perimeter where they can receive the most natural light. The pie-shaped configuration of the grid forms open-plan apartments with expansive views and multiple orientations. The buildings’ cladding is composed of modular vertical panels of steel and glass textured with a veil of shutters that can be opened or closed at the touch of a button.
Courtesy Wilkinson Eyre.
A fourth cylindrical volume forms an open courtyard at the center of the development and green roofs help bring nature to the urban landscape.
The project’s design team consisted of Wilkinson Eyre, Jonathan Tuckey Design, and No 12 Studio.
Courtesy Wilkinson Eyre.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Oct 5, 2017
Wexford’s latest innovation center breaks ground in Providence
The campus is expected to include an Aloft hotel.
Office Buildings | Jun 13, 2017
WeWork takes on a construction management app provider
Fieldlens helps turn jobsites into social networks.
Office Buildings | Mar 27, 2017
New York warehouse to become an office mixing industrial and modern aesthetics
The building is located in West Chelsea between the High Line and West Street.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 9, 2016
Middle school transformed into affordable housing for seniors
The project received $3.8 million in public financing in exchange for constructing units for residents earning less than 60 percent of the area’s median income.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 7, 2016
From fuel to food: adaptive reuse converts a closed gas station in Princeton, N.J., to a Nomad pizza
The original building dates back to the Modernist 1930s.
Hotel Facilities | Sep 7, 2016
Fish out of water: The site of a Birdseye frozen-food factory in Gloucester, Mass., transforms into a seaside hotel
The construction of this 94-room hotel and conference center pitted tourism proponents against locals who want to preserve this historic city’s fishing heritage.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 24, 2016
A symposium in New Jersey examines how a consolidating healthcare industry can better manage its excess real estate
As service providers position themselves closer to their communities, they are looking for ways to redirect non-core buildings and land for other purposes.
Adaptive Reuse | Apr 7, 2016
Redevelopment plan announced for Chicago’s historic Cook County Hospital
The century-old, Beaux Arts architecture-inspired hospital will transform into a mixed-use development.