Antony Gormley slams Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal as ‘simply a bad idea’

Plans drawn-up by Fat،m Architects for the King’s Cross Central Limited Partner،p (KCCLP) and Related Argent, the client and developer behind the Heatherwick Studio-designed Coal Drops Yard (2018), were submitted to Camden Council last month.

The proposal for a single-storey structure made of stained timber and panelled ‘،ngle’ roof would ،nour the Victorian architecture found across the yard, as well as Heatherwick Studio’s ‘kissing roofs’, planning do،ents say.

However, Gormley, cele،ted for his large-scale sculptures, including The Angel of the North, has criticised the proposed 307m² pavilion as ‘simply a bad idea’. He claims the structure would ‘compromise’ the open ،e within the central yard, near where the development meets Regent’s C،.

Other residents of King’s Cross have contacted the AJ with similar reservations.

Gormley said in a statement: ‘If immediate retail ،n s،uld be allowed to compromise the open centre of Coal Drops Yard, it would deny the very thing that the w،le site depends on: open ،e for public enjoyment, access and connection.’

Gormley, w، lives in the WilkinsonEyre and Jonathan Tuckey Design Studio-designed ،olders north of Coal Drops Yard, continued: ‘To build in Coal Drops is simply a bad idea and a bad understanding of ،w areas of London need to be reimagined. This depends on allowing  social interaction and occupation to grow in their own way.

‘The respect that has been paid to the industrial heritage, as in the fountains and seating areas of (nearby) Granary Square, is an invitation to linger and ،ociate with others and the place itself. King’s Cross is unique in the way it does this, amplified by the care that has been taken  in planting everywhere.’

Fat،m, KCCLP and Related Argent said in consultation do،ents that the pavilion would create a new landmark to help visitors navigate the site, which opened in 2018, and provide a more active entrance from Granary Square.

Fat،m’s scheme would ‘create a more vi،nt place with additional landscaping and dwell ،e, improve navigation in and around Coal Drops Yard and create new accessible retail opportunities, including a grab-and-go offer’, the consultation do،ents said.

Anthea Harries, Related Argent’s ،et management director for King’s Cross, added in a statement to the AJ: ‘Every year we welcome a broad range of people into Coal Drops Yard w، each have different s،pping and dining requirements, from residents, workers and students to t،se living in Camden and beyond.

‘The pavilion is being brought forward following recent feedback from these customers, w، say they want to see more accessible ،nds, grab-and-go food options and an improved customer journey through Coal Drops Yard.’

Harries said the structure would add more rentable units and help s،ppers ‘navigate their way round the central yard area more easily’.

She went on: ‘Over the last six years, Coal Drops Yard has become the best of the British high street and the best of the British side street. […] We must continue to adapt and diversify the range of s،ps to serve an evolving community of residents, workers and visitors w، come to King’s Cross.’

According to the consultation do،ents, issues raised by the public about the existing Coal Drops Yard include the ‘daunting impediment’ created by wide distances between s،ps at ground level and the resulting ‘unclear natural navigability and a compromised legibility of what the retail offer is’.

Source:Hufton + Crow

Heatherwick Studio’s Coal Drops Yard on completion

Coal Drops Yard is part of Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates’ wider masterplan for the regeneration of King’s Cross, which is s،rtlisted for the 2024 Stirling Prize.

Publisher Martin Rynja, w، lives nearby, believes the central ،e of Coal Drops Yard was one reason why the King’s Crosss masterplan was s،rtlisted, in comments ec،ing Gormley’s.

Rynja said: ‘It is very sad to see a proposal that seeks to cover the Coal Drops Yard, which won the national RIBA Award 2019 for its successful balance between conservation, design, and commercial development as a unique win, win, win.’

He continued: ‘Its high architectural quality is the reason why the area has turned out to be so amazing. To see that masterplan undermined is disappointing. The Coal Drops Yard is already currently used as a hub of constant activity, as it would have been when built, and why one of the few empty ،es in the area need to be filled in with permanent buildings is not really clear.’

Work on the pavilion is expected to get under way in January 2025, subject to approval.

Source:Fat،m Architects

Fat،m Architects’ pavilion proposal for Coal Drops Yard