Bennetts Associates has revealed plans for the latest development in London's King's Cross. Their proposal for a sensitive heritage conversion to "breath new life into a disused Victorian building" will house a new supermarket and cookery school, as well as an events and cultural space. As part of the ongoing transformation of one of London's central districts which has recently seen the completion of John McAslan's station concourse, Stanton William's Central Saint Martins, and an office proposal from David Chipperfield, Bennetts Associates' designs aim to reinvigorate the historic Midland Goods Shed.
Built in 1850, the Midland Goods Shed started life as a temporary passenger terminal. Queen Victoria departed from here on her way to Scotland in 1851 but, after the completion of King’s Cross station, the building was reappropriated for handling and storing food goods that were brought into King’s Cross from across the UK. The designs for the building's latest incarnation will continue a heritage of trade and food through "an imaginative conversion that will create space for a new supermarket and cookery school."
According to the architects, "the scheme preserves the buildings’ varied and idiosyncratic Victorian character of robust brickwork, thundering cast iron structures, cavernous spaces, delicate roof trusses and the majestic sweep of the East Handyside Canopy." Julian Lipscombe, director at Bennetts Associates, notes that the "two structures both have fascinating histories and stories to tell. The rich mix of proposed uses will allow the public to enjoy the dramatic range of spaces within for the very first time and will create a highly distinctive focal point within the heritage core of King’s Cross."
Subject to planning approval the construction of one of the latest King's Cross projects is anticipated to start later this year with the facilities due to open at King’s Cross in 2015.
