Platform 12

Platform 12 is an 8,400 sqm commercial office building immediately adjacent to King's Cross station, occupying a site that sat vacant for over a decade following the station's regeneration. The project was conceived as a contribution to the remarkable ensemble of new buildings that has transformed this part of London into one of its most architecturally coherent quarters.

The building is organised around a central atrium that rises the full height of the eight-storey structure, bringing daylight to the deepest parts of the floorplate and providing a spatial drama that distinguishes the building from its neighbours. The atrium is traversed at each level by a series of bridges that double as informal meeting areas and encourage the kind of chance encounters that underpin creative working culture.

The facades are designed to a rigorous grid derived from the proportions of the historic King's Cross station nearby. Precast concrete panels with an exposed aggregate finish provide thermal mass and solar shading, while the window-to-wall ratio is calibrated to maximise daylight while minimising solar gain. The building achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating.

The ground floor is entirely open to the public realm, with a café, cycle infrastructure, and generous covered space for the informal occupation that the building's proximity to the station generates. The design of this public realm was developed in close collaboration with the King's Cross Central Partnership and Transport for London.