Special Brew: The Brewery Building, King’s Cross

We’ve said it before and no doubt we’ll be saying it again sometime in the not too distant future, but we can’t help but be wowed by the continual redevelopment of King’s Cross and its surrounding area. The pre-millennials amongst us still remember (and will likely never forget) just how unloved and sorely neglected the area had become, bordering upon a no-go zone after dark for many.

Now one of our favourite parts of the capital, the transformation is spectacular, from Granary Wharf and Central St Martins through to the brilliant new workplaces and mixed-use developments beyond, which continue to rise out of the ground.

There’s also an impressive remodelling and reworking of many fine older buildings – one of which we are here to see today. Squire and Partners has completed the refurbishment, extension and fit-out of The Brewery Building – an existing 1970s office building in that rapidly emerging zone between King’s Cross and Islington – on behalf of Atlas Property.

The building (named after the road it sits on rather than its own heritage) makes strong references to the area’s industrial past, whilst providing the proportions and facilities required to provide a successful office building for occupiers; the original structure has been repurposed while two additional floors have been added to create 11,000 sq ft of creative workspace, aimed towards local independent businesses.

‘Wherever we could, we tried to take influence from industrial buildings and old railway buildings, so the balustrade design on the front façade is taken from the scissor gate design you find on a lot of railway buildings. That then led to the 45-degree brickwork. Like I said, this is an existing building with an extension, but by doing this it ensures that it still looks like one single building. Again, this took a lot of testing, but it was definitely worth it. It’s been really successful.

‘We used robust materials throughout, taking the proportions of successful office buildings – that’s really the key to our scheme. So the original narrow, horizontal windows have been enlarged to create full-height windows that improve daylight within the internal spaces.

Deeper recesses improve solar shading, while the central opening doors provide the opportunity for fresh air. Juliet balconies, complete with those light metal balustrades, have then been created to add to that theme of contemporary meets Victorian.

Moving inside, exposed concrete soffits allow generous floor to ceiling heights. A tonal colour palette, with colours inspired by aged industrial materials such as Verdigris and rust, has been used to complement the building exterior. Materials such as concrete, metal and timber, combined with exposed services and lighting continue the industrial aesthetic.

‘We could see that this would fit an open plan office scheme really nicely,’ Sean continues. ‘It always had great potential.

‘Due to planning parameters, the ground floor space has been retained as a light industry unit – but I think that mix of tenants will only add to the character.’

We move up to the 2nd floor, which has been developed from shell and core into what our hosts describe as a marketing suite. The interior team at Squire and Partners have taken the 2,000 sq ft floorplate and transformed it into a vibrant, flexible and agile working space ideally suited to the type of tenant the building is looking to attract – and the district continues to entice. ‘Obviously, the building didn’t have exposed Victorian ceilings that we could show off,’ Associate, Interior Design, James points out, ‘but we wanted to still have that exposed services feel, so we painted the cabling trays black – it was a lot more work, but it was definitely worth it.’