Contemporary and highly sustainable
Bennetts Associates for The London Borough of Camden
Contract value: £68m.
GIA: 22,699m2
Sustainability Award, supported by Sika
This 14-storey city block is the new head office for Camden Council and demonstrates its commitment to the giant King’s Cross development. On lower levels it provides four floors of public space, including a gym, swimming pools, library and café. On the upper floors offices are arranged around a light and airy atrium.
Public and administrative functions are separated by a giant transfer structure, expressed in the elevations with a robust arcaded plinth. The structure creates the clear-span space necessary for the pools beneath. Open plan office floors for 2300 hot deskers are connected by an elegant stair, fostering collaboration.
Sustainability is a key feature. The project achieved a BREEAM Outstanding score and incorporates an intelligent mix of passive and active approaches to cooling. This is a confident, efficient office building, which provides an exciting template for mixed use, harmonizing public and administrative functions in a contemporary and highly sustainable manner with simplicity, elegance and pragmatism.
See other winners in the RIBA Regional Awards 2015 – London