King's Road

‘Drawing inspiration from the site’s former use as a botanical nursery, the King’s Road project is marked by a seemingly suspended garden box that punctuates a refined fluted brick façade. This glass menagerie, inspired by the 19th century Wardian plant cases and showcasing botanical curiosities, becomes a sustainable beacon for the Kings Road.’ The project is located on the famous King’s Road in London. The concept imagines an open, green, light-filled space based around a verdant central courtyard. The vision and aspiration for the project is to create a spectacular new mixed-use quarter on the King’s Road. A place that will contribute to ambience, employment, enterprise, and entrepreneurialism; a place where people can both shop and work, and which the local community can be proud to be a part of. A modern vision inspired by timeless heritage The design team drew on the heritage of the site and wider area as their starting point for creating a vision for the scheme. The proposal is designed with a dynamic courtyard at the centre and a terraced roofscape that steps down to sensitively address neighbouring properties behind. The proposal includes flexibly designed spaces that are suitable for a range of occupiers. Notwithstanding this, it is anticipated that the uses of each level would be as follows: Leisure at basement level; Retail, Restaurant and Leisure on the lower ground; Retail, Restaurant/Café and Office Lobbies on the ground floor; Retail/Restaurant and Office on the first floor and Office on the upper floors. The proposal was informed by four fundamental principles: 1. Being sensitive to the surroundings: this has been a constant priority during the design development, as demonstrated by the diagrams on the right. 2. The history of site and the wider King’s Road: both these elements played an essential role in the design process. To honour the site’s legacy, a thorough research into key historical moments has been weaved into the proposed scheme. 3. Future proofing the scheme: this became increasingly important in light of the COVID crisis, retail downturn challenges and changes in various sectors. 4. Sustainability: we have strived to design to an ambitious sustainability agenda and to deliver an exemplary scheme that will serve as a benchmark for future developments. Wellbeing in the city The wellbeing of the tenants has driven the design approach. A u-shaped footprint provides views into the courtyard, acting as a natural lightwell to be enjoyed by all visitors. Moreover, the Garden Box element to the north, between office wings, offers a sanctuary from a formal working environment and gives tenants access to natural plants integrated into balconies. In addition, through its glazed facade and roof, the Garden Box is sheltered from the elements but connected to the outside world through an open underside. Finally, the front facade features a carefully crafted fluted brickwork in light earth tones picking up cues from the surrounding area material palette. The design is achieved with the use of British Standard radial bricks and optimised for minimal wastage.