10 Lewis Cubitt Square

10 Lewis Cubitt Square is a mixed-use building and akey piece of the King’s Cross masterplan, completing an area of the developing neighbourhood and complementing the established public realm. As such, it has an important role as a civic ‘backdrop’ and sits next to the primary retail offer at Coal Drops Yard (to the south), residential neighbours in the Gasholder Triplets (to the south) and the Plimsoll Building (to the west). To the north, Handyside Street separates Lewis Cubitt Park from Lewis Cubitt Square which sits against the building. 10 Lewis Cubitt Square incorporates 195,000 square foot (NIA) of flexible office space over nine floors, and a penthouse mezzanine. In addition, a welcoming and engaging ground floor is created, with a generous office lobby to Lewis Cubitt Square and a characterful cycle entrance on the western elevation to Wollstonecraft Street. To the south, a large flexible retail unit continues the retail journey from Coal Drops Yard and to the north, a flexible cultural space is located, with the flexibility for a future 600-seat theatre with an auditorium capable of a variety of staging configurations. The building’s facade is designed to provide a distinctive but contextual backdrop to Lewis Cubitt Square. A white, honed polished pre-cast concrete frame is embedded with stones and aggregates with colours influenced by the surrounding public realm. This universal system of pre-cast concrete frame is articulated differently throughout the building to create areas of deep facade, as well as a differing vertical and horizontal language between the lower and upper parts of the building. Within the pre-cast concrete frame sits a grain of window and spandrel, designed to maximise views from and daylight into the building. The window framing and spandrel design sits in contrast to the pre-cast concrete and uses an ink-blue hue in reference to the industrial heritage of the site. The ground plane is designed to provide visual and experiential variety and quality to the street experience as well as unify the variety of public uses. The pre-cast concrete facade continues, but gains solidity through wider concrete elements, and the use of solid, fluted concrete elements and integrated benches that encourage the public to approach, and interact with the building. Within this frame, generous, curved oriel bays provide a universal glazing system for retail and theatre. Double and single height oriels are used strategically to add variance to the ground floor experience and to respond to contextual relationships. At fifth floor level, the building sets back to afford greater privacy to the residential neighbours, and to improve daylight and pedestrian experience at street level. This terrace is organised based upon the chevron pattern from Lewis Cubitt Square which defines large areas of planting and soft landscaping that create distinctive areas within the wider terrace. The large and generous terrace is supplemented by a series of planted loggia, within the frame of the building – providing a variety of external amenity at differing building levels.