Newspaper
A vision for King’s Cross Central
The King’s Cross Central landscape masterplan has finally been given planning consent after a six-year planning process. The project is a joint scheme between developers Argent, London & Continental Railways and DHL Logistics and the first-phase construction is due to begin on-site at the end of next year, with a second phase to be completed by the 2012 London Olympics. It is hoped that the entire scheme will be finished by the year 2020. Landscape architects from RPS co-ordinated the Environmental Statement and also prepared the
Landscape Visual Impact and Heritage Assessment. RPS worked with the design team as part of the iterative design and assessment process.
The landscape masterplan for the site has been developed by Townshend Landscape Architects Ltd. Founder Robert Townshend told Vista about his team’s vision for the King’s Cross site and described the main landscape features of the scheme.
“In the masterplan we have created lots of connections and pedestrian routes across the site. One of the key things we’re trying to do at King’s Cross is plug it back into the city; there is a massive rail infrastructure to the north of the site which cuts it off at the moment. We want to transform this site from an inward-looking transport interchange to a connected piece of city,” explained Townshend. “We really want it to be a part of London.”
Station Square, to the south of the site, is the main gathering point and entrance gateway area to the site and Townshend’s team has worked hard to cope with buses, coaches, taxis, a tram system and pedestrians in a relatively small space. “We want to promote a safe balance between pedestrian usage and the traffic, which is something we have explored in this area as well as elsewhere in the scheme. In other parts of the site, we’re investigating the idea of home zones and shared space strategy. We’ve been working with a firm called General Public to encourage a shared space strategy which is about the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians, but we’re trying to take that a stage further and reclaim sites for residents and children. We’re really pushing the boundaries in this scheme,” said Townshend.
A tree-lined boulevard will draw pedestrians up the site, across the canal, to the enormous Granary Square area. Townshend’s team envisage Granary Square becoming an arena for outdoor events and a central meeting place: “This is the largest area of public space on the site,” said Townshend. “We see it as accommodating all sorts of activities and when it is not being used, there will be a large element of water. The front of the Granary building can be used as a screen – for shows and films.”
Townshend’s team plan to open up the relationship between the site and the canal. “At the moment there is one entrance point on the canal and then it’s all concreted walls and shut off. We want to open it up and we want people to interact with the canal. At the moment it’s very enclosed and quite threatening, but we are going to breathe new life into it,” he said.
Pancras Square is another highlight of the scheme, an area that has been designed with Gustafson Porter. Townshend described the concept behind the unique water feature planned for this site: “As you enter the square, you will see the water coming down towards you – flowing through the trees – and the idea is that the space will draw people up, across the canal and further into the site to the higher level Granary Square.”
Huge gas holders which dominate the site at present will be moved further north and the interior of one of the holders will be used as an amphitheatre space for educational programmes, which will benefit new schools. Other features of the site include well-positioned seating so that members of the public can appreciate the views across the city, and a continued exploration of sustainable issues. “We’re looking at green roofs, roof gardens, green walls, and the idea of creating habitats. We’re also incorporating turbines in to the scheme where we can – sensibly, so that they are not just an add-on. Providing play spaces has also been a big factor in our design and we have looked at how we can develop a network of places and routes for people of all ages,” said Townshend.
The consultation, carried out by Argent, was described by Townshend as ‘fantastic’, and he said that the whole process has been ‘invigorating and interesting’. He told Vista: “It’s taken us a huge amount of time and effort to produce this masterplan and we are immensely proud of it. It engages people. The landscape is crucial; if you create the right places and spaces and if there is a legibility about the scheme – so that when you arrive you can follow the site through – the scheme will work. Of course, the buildings are important because they provide the edges, but if the spaces are right, then in a hundred years time they will still be there, even if the buildings have changed.”
Townshend said that the biggest challenge was assimilating all the different requirements while keeping a coherency to the design. “One mustn’t lose sight of the original aims: to create a piece of city, to create connections, to create a place to live in and work in,” he explained. “It’s got to be wonderful and it will be wonderful,” he added.
Would you like to read more? To receive your copy of the Landscape Institute's monthly newspaper subscribe today.
