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Architects:Bennetts Associates

Area :48973 m²

Year :2021

Photographs :META, Hufton + Crow

Structural Engineer :Ramboll and Bam

M&E Consultant :Cundall

Quantity Surveyor :Gardiner & Theobald

Sustainability :Sturgis Carbon Profiling

Client : King's Cross Central Limited Partnership

Developer : Argent LLP

Interior Fit Out : Gehry Partners / Meta

Country : United Kingdom

11-21 Canal Reach, is the King’s Cross Estate’s largest office building with a capacity for 4,000 Meta employees. The arrival of Meta represents a major milestone and is the start of an expanding presence for the company at King’s Cross. With 425,000 sq ft of grade-A office space, 11-21 Canal Reach is one of the lowest embodied carbon buildings on the estate per sq ft.

Designed by architects Bennetts Associates, the two buildings feature 42,000 sq ft of landscaped roof gardens and terraces with uninterrupted views over central London, promoting employee wellbeing as well as local biodiversity. Other partners on the Canal Reach project included BAM Construct UK and Ramboll.

The development is divided into four large facets that follow the curve of the site. It is heavily influenced by the industrial heritage of the extensive railway development on its western boundary. The building’s distinctive façade features two layers: a cladding of bronzed anodized aluminum panels sits behind bronze anodized aluminum louvers that are perforated. Together, they reflect the building’s scale and emphasize the curved perspectives along Canal Reach in both distant and near views.

Reducing ‘first life’ materials and reducing upfront and embodied carbon was a priority from the building’s inception. The façade is created from recycled aluminum and a high proportion of concrete in the building replaces cement with GGBS (ground granulated blast-furnace slag) which is a waste product from the steel industry. Through efficient design, 10,564 tonnes of CO2 have been saved. The interior divides into two connected buildings, each with an atrium and a separate bank of lifts.

Topped at 10 and 12 stories, there is a horizontal plateau at the eighth level marking an important transition from a uniform profile to an expansive 4,000m² rooftop garden. The landscaped roof gardens and terraces offer a biodiverse space to enhance the well-being of employees and uninterrupted views over central London. Wellbeing is promoted with the offering of 730 cycle spaces for the use of office workers. This is more cycle spaces than nearly any other building in London.

Gehry Partners and TP Bennetts were responsible for the fit-out design. The buildings are on target to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating; they are in good company as King’s Cross is currently home to 25% of all BREEAM Outstanding commercial buildings in the UK.

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