The Plimsoll Building
Number/street name:
1 Handyside Street
Address line 2:
City:
London
Postcode:
N1C 4BP
Architect:
David Morley Architects
Architect contact number:
Developer:
King's Cross Central Ltd.
Contractor:
Carillion
Planning Authority:
London Borough of Camden
Planning Reference:
Date of Completion:
Schedule of Accommodation:
42 x studio apartments, 71 x 1 bed apartments, 102 x 2 bed apartments, 40 x 3 bed apartments, 12 x penthouses
Tenure Mix:
100% Market Sale
Total number of homes:
Site size (hectares):
0.37
Net Density (homes per hectare):
691
Size of principal unit (sq m):
70
Smallest Unit (sq m):
33
Largest unit (sq m):
169
No of parking spaces:
36
Scheme PDF Download
Planning History
The Kings Cross master plan was granted outline planning permission (OPP) in December 2006. The Reserved Matters Application for The Plimsoll Building development was granted planning permission in December 2012.
The Design Process
David Morley Architects’ client King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership spent five years consulting with the people who would be affected by the development including businesses, residents and heritage organisations. It derived from the lengthy consultation its “Principles for a Human City”. This dialogue was then fed back to each emerging schemes’ architect, including David Morley Architects, when it was appointed to design The Plimsoll Building and the two schools. David Morley Architects also engaged directly with a diverse selection of bodies including London Borough of Camden officers; Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children’s staff, pupils and governors and head teachers from existing primary schools within the immediate vicinity; King’s Cross Design and Access Forum (representatives of the immediate local community); and Dolphin Square Foundation (King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership’s partner for The Plimsoll Building’s affordable housing). In order to design a new school for Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children, David Morley Architects also consulted as many professional, academics and people with similar needs as possible to try and find a balanced set of principles that could be used to inform the design proposals.
