King’s Cross Student Accommodation, London Residential Tower, Building, Design

King’s Cross Student Housing

London Residential Tower Development – design by Glenn Howells Architects

21 Jan 2011

King’s Cross Central Student Housing

Design: Glenn Howells Architects

WORLD CLASS STUDENT HOUSING AT KING’S CROSS CENTRAL GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT

– 657 much needed student bedrooms to be delivered at King’s Cross Central
– Stunning building designed by Glenn Howells Architects
– The 27-storey building will create a high quality landmark building at the northern tip of the development, next to High Speed 1

King’s Cross Central Student Flats

Permission has now been granted for student accommodation on the King’s Cross Central development. Camden Council resolved to grant permission in November 2010 and the plans were then referred to the Mayor of London who is content to allow the scheme to proceed. The Section 106 Agreement has now been signed and the permission was issued on 11 January 2011.

image : Glenn Howells Architects

The building, designed by leading architecture firm Glenn Howells Architects, will be 14 storeys high for the most part, rising to 27 storeys at one end and will deliver 657 much needed student bedrooms.

The accommodation will be developed by Urbanest UK. Urbanest UK signed an agreement for lease with the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) in September 2010. Under the structure of the deal, Urbanest will develop and own the building under a long lease from KCCLP.

It is expected to be ready for occupation for the 2013/14 academic year, two years after The Granary Complex, at King’s Cross Central, becomes home to 4,500 staff and students at the University of Arts London, which includes Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

The building will create a strong urban marker within ‘Zone T’ at the northern end of the 67 acre development site. It will wrap around a new courtyard space at ground level which will be open to the public and will contain seating, planting and public art.

Inside there will be a mixture of cluster flats and self-contained studios, with some commercial space at ground level. The building is designed to be highly sustainable, aiming to achieve major carbon savings and a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

Robert Evans, from King’s Cross Central, said:
“We are delighted that the permission has now been granted for this landmark student accommodation building at King’s Cross Central. This is another important milestone for the project. The T6 building will enhance the original masterplan and unlock yet further investment in new public realm and other infrastructure at King’s Cross.”

Glenn Howells, from Glenn Howells Architects, said:
“From the outset of the project, we have had a strong vision for this building that addresses not only the practical requirements of student accommodation, but that will deliver an architecturally strong, innovative and sustainable end product.

“Gaining approval from Camden Council is excellent news for this site and the wider Kings Cross Central development. And, having worked closely with the council planning department to arrive at this point, we are now looking forward to continuing this relationship to progress the scheme.”

Johnny Manns, from Urbanest, said:
“We are delighted that the London Borough of Camden shares our visions for this project, and we are now working to deliver this landmark scheme for our university partners by 2013.”

About King’s Cross Central

King’s Cross Central (www.kingscrosscentral.com) is the most significant development and regeneration opportunity in central London.

The development includes 2,000 new homes, 20 new streets, 10 new major public spaces and the restoration of 20 historic buildings and structures which are to be retained and refurbished.

Up to 4.3m sq ft of office space and 500,000 sq ft of retail space is being made available at the development which has the best public transport accessibility in London with access to 10 rail and underground lines and two major rail termini – St Pancras International and King’s Cross main line station.

The Mayor of London

The Mayor of London retains certain planning powers in relation to planning applications of potential strategic importance. If an application triggers certain thresholds, the borough is obliged to refer the application to the Mayor, whereby he will notify the borough that he either wants no further involvement in the application or that he wishes to be consulted again once the borough has reached a decision on the application.

About KCCLP

King’s Cross Central is being developed by the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, acting by its general partner, the King’s Cross Central General Partner Ltd (KCCGP). The KCCGP Board is chaired by Sir David Clementi and is currently a partnership between three companies which all have seats on the Board. These are:

• Argent King’s Cross Limited Partnership (AKXLP) – is backed by Argent Group, one of the UK’s best respected property development companies and Hermes Real Estate on behalf of the BT Pension Scheme. Argent is the Asset and Development Manager for King’s Cross Central. (www.argentgroup.plc.uk)

• London & Continental Railways Limited (LCR) – has over the last 15 years delivered the award-winning High Speed 1 Railway, including new stations at Stratford International and Ebbsfleet, as well as the rebirth of St Pancras as an international station, all on time and on budget. In November 2010 LCR sold, on behalf of the government, HS1 Ltd with its 30 year concession for the track and stations to a consortium comprising Borealis Infrastructure and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for £2.1 billion. Today LCR focuses on its important regeneration projects at King’s Cross Central, in partnership with Argent and DHL, Stratford City Business District, in partnership with Lend Lease, and other landholdings across the south-east. (www.lcrhq.co.uk)

• DHL – is a world-class provider of supply chain solutions. (www.dhl.com)

King’s Cross Central General Partner Board Members are: Sir David Clementi (Chairman), Peter Freeman (Argent), Roger Madelin (Argent), David Partridge (Argent), Tim Turnbull (Hermes Real Estate), Mark Bayley (LCR), David Joy (LCR), John Casey (DHL), Roger Mann (DHL)

About Urbanest UK

Founded in February 2008, urbanest is an international provider of high-quality purpose-built student accommodation. With operations now well-established in Australia and London, what sets urbanest apart is a commitment to develop continually improving new products and customer service to the student accommodation market. Building upon its senior management team’s 50 years’ direct experience in delivering purpose-built student housing, urbanest is working to increase the opportunity for students worldwide to live in prime, central locations that will enhance their learning experience. (www.urbanest.co.uk)

About Glenn Howells

Glenn Howells Architects was established in 1990 and has built up a strong reputation over the last 20 years as one of the foremost design led architectural practices in the UK. With offices in Birmingham and London, the work of the practice is based on clarity of vision and innovative use of materials. Glenn Howells Architects has won numerous national and international design competitions and received over 60 awards for projects ranging from cultural buildings and housing to large-scale urban mixed-use developments.

Glenn Howells

Location: King’s Cross, London, England, UK