Kings Place is a mixed use development providing the following:

• 420 seat conference hall.
• Rehearsal rooms and recording/broadcasting facilities.
• Art galleries, studio and art workshops.
• Office space (at the end of 2008, the Guardian newspaper moved from it's home of 32 years in Farringdon to King's Place).
• Atrium cafe, restaurant, bar and conference space.

For a member of the public visiting the building, the two most striking features are the undulating glass facade and the atrium. The facade is a freestanding surface composed of curved sheets of glass which helps to reduce solar gain from the afternoon sun. It defines the appearance of the building from the front, but it also means that if you look at the sides or the back, it looks like a totally different building.

The atrium runs through the centre of the building and aims to bring in as much natural light as possible. It contains the cafe, bar and restaurant, and leads on to the music, gallery and waterfront areas.

One could say it's a rather austere building for a cultural institution. But I find the public spaces generously proportioned and I enjoy the calm compared to some of the more centrally located arts venues. The regeneration of the area behind King's Cross has been a long time coming and in 2010, King's Place still feels like a lonely outpost. Perhaps it should be judged in context once it has become integrated into the wider development.

March 2010