Heatherwick Studio http://www.heatherwick.com has received from Camden Council approval to realize a new shopping area at King’s Cross in London. Coal Drops Yard, next to the Regent’s Canal, the Gasholders apartments and Granary Square, will offer an exciting array of boutique and destination shops and restaurants, ready to welcome visitors and shoppers in 2018.
In addition to the area’s new bars and restaurants, homes, schools, parks and squares, Coal Drops Yard will bring an eclectic mix of independent retailers and signature brands, all with quality and traditional shop-keeping values, and a focus on fashion and lifestyle. Coal Drops Yard will have around 65 units of varying sizes, including five larger anchors units, opening onto a central public space. The Heatherwick Studio design combines the bold re-use of the historic buildings at Coal Drops Yard with high-quality contemporary architecture that will create a unique shopping destination and major new public space at the heart of King’s Cross. Over a two-year restoration and build process, Londoners will see the existing Victorian buildings – the East and West Coal Drops and Wharf Road Arches – refurbished and re-purposed in a way that creates a stunning new upper level and improves connectivity, whilst allowing the original forms and functions to be read.
The design by Heatherwick Studio is a considered response to the important Victorian industrial buildings from the 1850s; in fact, the ability for future visitors to the Coal Drops Yard to appreciate the history and various functions of these buildings has been fundamental to the design process. Thomas Heatherwick, Founder and Principal of Heatherwick Studio says, “So rather than adding an entirely foreign new structure to connect the old buildings, we chose simply to bend and stitch the two roofs together, forming another level of activity underneath, and framing and weather-protecting a dynamic new public space for the city.” The project is being led by King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP), with construction due to start in early 2016 and complete in autumn 2018. Source and images Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.