B1 

Planning reference number 2011/4713/P

“Submission of Reserved Matters relating to Development Zone B (Plot B1) for the erection of a part 9/12/13 storey building, plus basement and basement mezzanine levels, comprising 41,035sqm of office floorspace (Class B1) at part lower ground, part upper ground and on first to eleventh floors, 1,000sqm of flexible retail/financial/café/drinking establishment/take away uses (Class A1/A2/A3/A4/A5) at part lower ground and upper ground levels, plant/storage areas and car parking at basement level, Metropolitan Police Office and staff cycle storage at mezzanine basement level, a public bicycle storage facility at part lower ground level with associated roof plant at part tenth and eleventh floors. Matters addressed by this submission entail associated details in compliance with condition nos. 3, 6, 16-23, 27-28, 31, 33-38, 45-46, 48-49, 51, 55-56, 60 and 64-67 of the outline planning permission for a comprehensive, phased, mixed-use development of former railway lands within the Kings Cross Opportunity Area (Ref: 2004/2307/P granted subject to s106 agreement on 22 December 2006).”

Response by the Forum

The King’s Cross Development Forum is concerned with ensuring that development of the King’s Cross area meets the needs of people living or working there now and in the future. It comprises individuals and representatives of member organisations from the local communities.

The Forum does not always comment on planning applications; it often leaves that to member organisations, which may use its observations. In the present case members of the Forum have asked for the Forum to comment directly.

The scheme was described to the Forum by BNP Paribas and the architects at a meeting in September, shortly before the date of submission. The Forum is grateful for having had this opportunity to hear about the scheme.

This building occupies a prominent site. It is the first modern building that people will see when emerging from the stations on to Pancras Road. It is on the line to be taken by people going to the proposed Camden Council offices. It might be the first major building by this firm of architects in this country. As such it is disappointing and displays little more than a commercial determination to occupy the site as fully as possible.

The western edge of the building creates a massive bulk opposite the eastern flank of St Pancras station. The long straight corridor between the station and B1 is like a canyon. There is no permeability through this mass. Overall the western face of B1 gives a relentless impression of overwhelming flatness and verticality.

There is an attempt to relieve the impression by breaking the block into three. However, it is hardly worth doing: the dividing spaces between the blocks are visually shallow, the roof planes are mere appendages, and the entrance is just incidental to the whole.

More could be done at street level on B1 (both the east and west elevations) to promote a human scale. At the least there should be a colonnade (especially on the west side), to protect people walking along the canyon. Stronger articulation of the separateness of the three blocks would help to break the mass. Varied textures and materials along the lower levels would add interest and contrast to the broad treatment of materials on higher levels.

The scale of the complex of buildings is possibly inevitable, if unwelcome. However, now that buildings of this size are being introduced to an area where buildings used to be lower, not enough consideration has been given to the space left around them. The Seagram building in NYC works partly because of the spacious plaza at its foot, while the new Pancras Square seems cramped and hemmed in by the bulk of the buildings that surround it.  This is a once in a lifetime chance to give people the sense of civic pride and emotional well being that well designed public spaces can offer. Are we going to miss such an opportunity?