- GreenBricks_
🟩 GreenBricks Building of the Week 🟩 One Pancras Square
Palazzo green
Gateway to King’s Cross Central development, One Pancras Square has cultivated simplicity and symmetry. With strong tectonic horizontal and vertical elements, it appears economical yet expressive. A workplace with a lot of the palazzo about it.
📍Location
King’s Cross, London
🏢Building Details
Completed 2014 – 55,120 sq. ft. over 8 floors
Island office building, with shops, cafes, and Underground entrance at street level
Design aesthetic determined by 396 cast-iron clad columns, reflecting borough’s strong industrial heritage
Winner of 2015 BREEAM Award + 2016 Civic Trust Award: Special Award for Sustainability
👷🏾♀️Contractor
✍️Architects & Engineers
Mattias Kunz – Director at David Chipperfield Architects
Andrew Knight – Business Manager at Hargreaves Foundry
James White – Co-Founder & Director at March and White Design
Elliot March – Co-Founder at March and White Design
Mark O’Dea – Director at Techrete
Grontmij Group, now part of Sweco
🌱Sustainability
BREEAM Outstanding (89%)
Building linked to the street-wide district heating network – provides 100% of heating and hot water needs
Active chilled beams + opening windows mean it can be ventilated mechanically or naturally
Brownfield redevelopment – site of former gasworks
Passive design techniques utilised, including exposed concrete floor slabs and optimised glazing to solid ratios
🥦 Wellbeing
Balconies supported by freestanding columns provide 590 sq. ft. external terrace space per floor
External structure = ratio of 40% solid to 60% glass – providing ample natural light
A pair of central cores provides the main structure resulting in column-free office space: offering maximum flexibility + accessibility for tenants
Part of the wider King’s Cross regeneration project – providing integrated transport, connectivity, amenity, and streets designed for people
🎈Bonus feature
The 396 cast-iron columns are made from recycled car brake discs. They also feature a detailed woven pattern. This is a nod to German architect, Gottfried Semper’s theory that weaving (producing patterns and textiles) was the ‘original man-made art’ – from which all architecture and buildings evolved.
🔗 Check it out https://www.akt-uk.com/projects/one-pancras-square/
