Regents Wharf in Kings Cross is an unsung hero of London’s industrial heritage. Join the study tour to learn about its recent reinvention by Hawkins\Brown.

The development has reinvigorated a former Victorian warehouse complex on the Regents Canal, bringing a site with over two hundred years of industrial heritage back into use.

The project has balanced sensitive custodianship of the heritage assets with bold interventions to make the complex fit for the 21st Century. The central courtyard, built on the site of the old lime kilns, forms the entrance plaza to the four buildings which make up the development. Three cores link the buildings together, and a series of walkways bridge between the upper levels.

 

Existing features have been exposed and augmented wherever possible, while extensions and additions join the buildings together. The new building, opened by the great grandson of the original proprietor, encloses the courtyard and provides an assured, contemporary addition to the 18th century brick warehouses.

 

Every opportunity to preserve or reuse materials has been taken, and the canal presented a rare opportunity to use barges to transport  materials to and from the construction site. The project provides a model for Grade A commercial development within a sensitive and important part of London’s heritage.

 

                Niki Kernohan, Director, NLA

                Robert Dutton, Senior Architectural Designer, Hawkins\Brown