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The Plimsoll Building

The Plimsoll Building

  • Status
  • Completed 2015
  • Client
  • King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership
  • Value
  • Confidential
  • Procurement Method
  • Design and Build
  • Services
  • Architect and Lead Consultant
  • Scale
  • 31,729m²

Awards

  • International Property Awards 2016-2017 ‘Best Mixed-Use Development‘ - Winner
  • New London Awards 2014 - Winner
  • Housing Design Award 2016 - Shortlisted
  • Construction News Awards 2016 - Shortlisted
  • RIBA London Award 2016 - Winner

The Plimsoll Building is King’s Cross’ third private residential building to launch. It is situated alongside the Regent’s Canal, next to both the Tapestry, and the Gasholder No 8, which is being transformed into a beautiful urban park and events space.

  • Status
  • Completed 2015
  • Client
  • King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership
  • Value
  • Confidential
  • Procurement Method
  • Design and Build
  • Services
  • Architect and Lead Consultant
  • Scale
  • 31,729m²

Awards

  • International Property Awards 2016-2017 ‘Best Mixed-Use Development‘ - Winner
  • New London Awards 2014 - Winner
  • Housing Design Award 2016 - Shortlisted
  • Construction News Awards 2016 - Shortlisted
  • RIBA London Award 2016 - Winner

Situated in a series of interlinking scaled blocks designed by David Morley Architects, the Plimsoll building comprises 178 private apartments. The Plimsoll Building is named in honour of Samuel Plimsoll, one of Victorian Britain’s most important historical figures, and one with links to the history of King’s Cross. Plimsoll was a politician in the time of Queen Victoria’s reign. He campaigned for the safety of miners, and then, inspired by several major shipwrecks (and his investment in the railway coal drops at King’s Cross), moved his focus to goods ships, inventing what became known as the Plimsoll Line as a guide to how low in the water vessels should be.

The business objectives for The Plimsoll Building were to: provide a fantastic mixed tenure living environment alongside London’s best teaching and learning environment for mainstream, deaf and hard of hearing children; set a new benchmark for residential quality and capital values in the King’s Cross scheme; help create a thriving new urban community in King’s Cross and specifically around Gasholder Park; enrich the emerging public realm at King’s Cross; and demonstrate successfully a model for high-density, mixed-use “place making”.

Internal view

The Plimsoll Building is described by ‘Design Junction’ as one of the ‘Six Jewels of the new King’s Cross’. “Why? Because it is asked to do so much… It’s fascinating to see how a playground can effectively sit cheek-by-jowl with luxury flats and, at a stroke, shows the breadth and ambition of the entire development.”

Architect’s Breakfast , Design Junction

The architecture of the building references the Victorian industrial heritage of King’s Cross – it is externally-clad in a textured brick – whilst internal facades are made up of of light concrete panels which reflect and direct sunlight into the internal garden space. Interiors will be designed by Johnson Naylor, a practice which works with many of London’s best developers.

Kings Cross Academy and Frank Barnes School

Podium Garden

Alongside the private-sale apartments, The Plimsoll Building includes the Winter block, 77 affordable rented homes being provided in partnership with the Dolphin Square Foundation. The building also has two schools, on the ground and first floors: King’s Cross Academy and the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children. These schools are co-located together and share facilities within an integrated, inclusive and sign/spoken bilingual environment.

There is also a small (100 sq m) retail unit in the north-east corner of the building, and a community meeting space on the ground floor. Construction of The Plimsoll Building began in April 2013 and was completed in late 2015.

Please follow http://plimsoll.chalk.co.uk/ to find out more and the following link for an amazing virtual tour of the apartments.

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