Urban nature: Conran and Partners unveils first BTR scheme in King’s Cross
Drawing from boutique hotel design, the amenity-rich Author King’s Cross is indicative of London’s once deprived and now rapidly evolving district.
This article first appeared in Mix Interiors #230
Words: Harry McKinley
Photography: Taran Wilkhu
King’s Cross is perhaps one of the greatest examples of successful urban redevelopment in the UK. Just a couple of decades ago this immense swathe of the capital was shabby and mostly purposeless – save for its namesake railway station. Its streets, lined with neglected industrial buildings, were notorious for prostitution and drug dealing. King’s Cross St. Pancras was, as recently as 2011, the Tube station with the most reported crimes. But how times have changed. Today, the neighbourhood hosts HQs for global behemoths such as Meta, Google and Nike; is a hub for creativity and innovation, with a Central Saint Martins campus; and features a spiffy retail district in Coal Drops Yard, also home to Tom Dixon’s studio. And still change drives on, in places scaffolding and hoarding in almost equal ratio to sparkling new glass façades.
Author King’s Cross, by developer Related Argent, is the area’s first BTR scheme, occupying a wedge of York Way just a few minutes’ amble from The Guardian’s offices. With 182 units, it aims to be all that the new King’s Cross stands for – industrious, vibrant and, in contrast to still recent history, highly polished. This means an emphasis on aesthetics, amenities and culture, Conran and Partners drafted to design the expansive communal areas.
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