Streetlife at Gasholder Park & Triplets in King’s Cross

Built in the 1850-60s, enlarged and elevated in the 1880s, decommissioned in 2000 and finally restored and relocated in the past decade. The London Gasholders no. 8 and ‘triplets’ 10, 11 and 12 are iconic sculptures that visualise the industrial heritage of King’s Cross and London.

After years of intense regeneration, the area is attracting more and more cultural institutes, multinational headquarters and consequently housing development. Gasholder Park and the public area outside of the Gasholder luxury apartment buildings is welcoming and dynamic. Along the banks of Regents Canal, the area has all the potential to become a vibrant district.

The intricate wrought-iron structures were renovated, including the ornamental details that give the industrial structures a friendly character. A large amount of trees, grass surfaces and raised plant borders introduce greenery. Rough&Ready Big Green Benches designed by Streetlife combine weathering steel borders with ‘Rough&Ready’ seating, establishing an inviting scenery to enjoy a chat with your neighbours. The Rough&Ready Top Seat elements, fitted with back- and armrests, continue this combination of seating and greenery in the large natural stone borders of the park. The hardwood slats are mounted in a steel comb with the Streetlock® fixture which is semi-integrated in the granite surfaces.Because of the uniform beam size of 7x15 cm within the Rough&Ready Range, all different product types pair incredibly well.

In front of the apartment buildings street furniture with a more refined slat size was chosen from the Solid Series. The new Solid Skirt Bench makes for a very inviting and sophisticated seating edge. The Skirt Benches feature a distinctive attractive and strong corner joint between the seat and the upright sections. The transverse Solid slats (7x7cm) create a natural anti-skate solution. Finally this project asked for bespoke Curved Solitude Benches. All Streetlife products used in the Gasholder area are provided with weathering steel supports or walls and hardwood slats with the corresponding widths of 7cm, resulting in a coherent scheme. The somewhat bold but reserved appearance of Streetlife’s street furniture stands firm in the scale of the surrounding architecture and monumentality.

The revival of this once discarded industrial area by respectfully restoring the heritage and innovatively introducing modern architecture and design seems to be working rather well for London.