The Pavilions, Caledonian Road

The Pavilions came from our regeneration of a challenging derelict railway site occupying 1.9 hectares at the north-eastern tip of the King’s Cross masterplan in London, bound by the East Coast mainline. The scheme provides 156 homes, with 35% affordable housing, in a highly sustainable scheme featuring renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, recycled cladding, and extensive green infrastructure.

The site was purchased by the authorities in 1996 to allow the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) into King’s Cross St Pancras, which runs in a tunnel underneath the site at a shallow depth. The remainder of the steeply sloped site includes a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and a vacant end-terrace plot which falls within a conservation area along Caledonian Road.

We designed seven new residential buildings, ranging from 3 to 6 storeys, arranged in a linear configuration running parallel to the railway line. The prefabricated steel-framed structures are lightweight, sitting gently on the land to accommodate the CTRL tunnel below. Composed of interlocking forms clad in brick and recycled tile cladding, the buildings have metal patterned fretwork that invokes the wrought-iron railings found throughout the surrounding Barnsbury conservation area. The homes are generously sized, with rooms well in excess of current space standards, and feature balconies overlooking the newly planted woodland on site.

At the site entrance on Caledonian Road, we created a new end-terrace building sympathetic to the local Victorian terraces in the conservation area, containing commercial space, flats and an energy centre supplying hot water to the site – calibrated at a lower and more efficient temperature due to the site-wide implementation of underfloor heating.

Protecting and enhancing the natural ecology of the site was a crucial part of the project. A biodiverse landscaping scheme included 2,408 trees and shrubs across seven unique habitat types, the eradication of widespread Japanese Knotweed infestation, and the creation of a nature trail to be used by local schools, complete with a bird hide. Climbing plants, green walls and green roofs serve to integrate the landscape and built form. Local school groups were on site during construction to help plant trees and plan the nature trail, engaging the community in the transformation of this once-neglected pocket of north London.