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An artist’s impression of the King’s Cross gas holder water feature |
Deep thinking wins gas competition
£2.5m water feature and performance space set to be carved out at disused holder structure
THE ideas ranged from a giant, hollow, shimmering marble to a helter-skelter slide – but in the end a panel of judges plumped for a basement venue and a water feature to sit inside a gas holder in King’s Cross.
Developers Argent King’s Cross Limited Partnership this week announced the winning design from an 80-strong competition. They have chosen a scheme that will see a new basement carved out underneath the gas holder that will be used for performances and community use, while at ground level the architects have designed a series of water features that gradually fill during the day.
Other ideas that made the shortlist included a helter-skelter – whizzing people from a restaurant with views across London to a performance space beneath – but it was a more conservative plan to build ever-changing puddles of water on a raised plaza that got the nod.
Architect Harry Phillips, whose practice Bell Phillips and Kimble won the competition, said: “The main thing to consider was the fact we already had a great structure and a beautiful location beside a canal. Our challenge was to do something that amplified their qualities.
“We thought about having a viewing platform or filling it with trees but we quickly realised that we should allow the gas holder to speak for itself.
“We’ll dig a new structure downwards that you will be able to access by the towpath. It essentially will create a new basement underneath. The roof of this becomes a new space with a series of water features and drainage systems. People beneath can look up and see the water.”
Argent had specified that designs should facilitate a wide range of activities and what they described as a “playable” landscape.
Mr Bell said: “In this development we have a lot of people using this space at different times of the day. Office workers at lunchtime, after school there may be children from the local school, and then at night we wanted it to become a beautiful amenity and a sculptured object. We wanted to use subtle changes in water levels.”
The gas holder, dating from the 1850s, is listed and is due to be dismantled and refurbished before being hoisted into place. The scheme will cost £2.5million and should be complete in 2011.
Geoffrey Roper, chairman of the amenity group the King’s Cross Development Forum, said: “I am delighted that the competition has been concluded and something will happen. It will brighten the place up and provide some fun.”
He added: “We were a little concerned how the new buildings will relate to each other.”
Finding a new use for the gas holder mimics similar schemes across Europe. In Austria, gas holders have been used as frames for housing projects while in Barcelona one has been filled with trees. |
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