DMA

Last week Islington Council approved plans for the new development at 4 Brandon Road that we have designed for our client, Kadans Science Partner. It sits adjacent to 5-10 Brandon Road, another life-science facility currently under construction by Morgan Sindall, that we have also been working on with Kadans as part of the fast-growing ‘Knowledge Quarter’ in and around King’s Cross.

The newly approved scheme will provide an additional five storeys of flexible laboratory and small-scale manufacturing space that is designed to allow businesses to expand and grow on the site. The design allows maximum adaptability, with access to servicing across a flexible internal layout and a regular structural grid that minimises vibration across the floor plate and allows specialist working throughout. The building has also been designed for disassembly and re-use, future-proofing its lifespan.

The design reflects the Life Science use whilst also remaining contextual to the area’s industrial heritage, with a façade of clean, elegant lines informed by the internal laboratory grid, and a palette of robust materials including pre-cast concrete and decorative architectural metalwork.

The council described the front elevation as “smart, crisp and modern” and the scheme as a whole as an “architectural benchmark” for the area. They commented,

“The proposal will positively impact on the quality of the streetscape, improving both the legibility and usability of the broader public realm. It will create a more active ground floor interface, particularly enhanced by the generous double height entrance lobby, which creates a safer and more interesting street. This is a thoughtfully designed scheme of good architectural properties and a beneficial configuration on the site that creates a more generous and rational response to the public realm.”

Project Lead, Tom Murphy, said,

“It’s fantastic to reach this important milestone in the project and to receive such positive feedback from the London Borough of Islington on the design.”