November 16, 2021

Plantworks, 1-3 Britannia Street, London

Project Summary:

Location: EC1, London
Sector: Office
Client: Sturgeon Capital
Architect: Marek Wojciechowski 
Daylight and Sunlight: Malcom Hollis
Consultant: Cundal 
Contract: Mayer Construction: MNE Building Services
M &E Contractor: Synergy MEP
Value: £48 K
Size: 6,592 sq. ft
Photography: Edward Summer

The latest addition to the vibrant Kings Cross scene, the 1-3 Britannia Street in King’s Cross otherwise known as The Plantworks presents 6,592 sq ft of pioneering CAT A office space designed with the focus on wellbeing. The urban plantation development boasts a great location within the popular King’s Cross area. The forward thinking scheme was designed by the award winning London architectural practice Marek Wojciechowski Architects in collaboration with the New York based urban farm designers Kono Designs. Their unique concept was then brought to life by Mayer Construction. The Plantworks challenges stereotypes, encourages healthy lifestyle and has a low environmental impact.

Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.

The site located in a courtyard between Britannia Street and King’s Cross Road had restricted access. Originally built in the 1980’s, the two storey building was previously used as a mirror workshop. Marek Wojciechowski Architects were appointed to reimagine the land and the existing building.

The new development features a complete reinvention of the original building and introduced itself as the first urban farm office development in London. In addition to 10,000 plants it also offers cycle storage, changing rooms and shower facilities.

Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.
Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.
Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.

In September 2017, the 299 team were approached by the project team at Cundal, who acted as the consultant on the project, with the request for detailed lighting design. We worked closely with the M&E contractor at Synergy MEP and our lighting design and engineering team became an integral part of the project, turning the design concept into reality.

Our light engineers attended site meetings with the design team, provided product samples and technical expertise for the project.

In total, 75 hours of lighting design in total were used to secure and support this unique project

Following the current CIBSE standards, our lighting design team put together a great lighting scheme using one linear profile with direct/-indirect light distribution across the board to keep the design consistent.

We also provided design and supply services on the back of the house area, as well as the emergency lighting calculations. In this project, the emergency lighting was integrated into the linear profiles. In the back of the house areas, standalone emergency lighting was used.

THE DESIGN BRIEF.

People were at the absolute heart of this unique project. And so light, spaciousness and nature became the focus of this scheme. From the living walls at the reception, to the green courtyard and plants at the outside walls of the building, it’s plants everywhere you look. The scheme is a nod to the industrial heritage of the building. It is reflected in the selected materials like exposed brickworks, aluminium framed glazing and zink roofing.

With the project aiming to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and EPC rating, the new lighting had to meet high criteria on quality and efficiency.

Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.
Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.

LOWER GROUND FLOOR.

The lower ground floor of the building features an open plan office space with breakout spaces and washrooms. The space features polished concrete ceilings with exposed services and impressive steel columns, all referencing the industrial heritage of the building. Natural light has been brought into the space through the new folding roof.

 

The scheme utilises suspended linear lighting as the main lighting. The designer favourite Rio Suspended in standard sizes has been used throughout the entire scheme to keep the design consistent. In the circulation areas and breakout space, the Set square surface mounted was used. It offers lower levels of lighting, creating more calmer space.

First and second floor.

Following the same design principals, the suspended linear lighting is used across the first and second floor, as the main source of lighting. The Rio Suspended Direct/-Indirect was used as the main office lighting across the entire scheme. Tried and tested on numerous large scale schemes, the performance driven Rio is a trusted luminaire with great looks.

Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.
Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.
Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.

Contemporary track system Wey was used as an addition to the linear lighting on this floor to provide extra illumination.

The scheme uses one colour temperature to achieve a crisp contemporary look.

All office lighting was supplied in a contemporary matte black finish. Integrated emergency lighting was supplied for the main office areas and full standalone emergency package on all other areas. In the back of the house areas, we used square and circular downlights Cinca and Cinca Square.

Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.
Office lighting for a sustainable BREEM-rated CAT A development at Plantworks, 1-3 Brittania Street, London.

The project was completed in July 2021. The final result is a unique contemporary CAT A scheme flooded with natural light. Sustainable and forward thinking, the scheme achieved BREEAM “Excellent’ rating. The team at 299 proud to have been involved with such an ambitious and interesting project.

Project in figures:

7 Revisions

Our lighting design team had to create 7 revisions in order to achieve perfection.

75 Design hours

75 design hours were allocated to the interior lighting design for this project

10,000 Living plants

10,000 living plants were used in this project.

Products used in this project:

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