engineering.
Opposite King’s Cross and St Pancras stations, Belgrove House introduces a specialised laboratory and office building to the Euston Road frontage, strengthening the London Borough of Camden’s growing life-sciences cluster within the Knowledge Quarter.
A laboratory and office building advancing London’s Knowledge Quarter at King’s Cross.
Designed by AHMM, the ten-storey building organises its programme with clarity. Floors one to three accommodate life-sciences laboratories on generous floorplates, expressed openly on the façade to reveal research activity within. Level four forms a dedicated collaboration hub, while levels five to nine provide flexible office space. At ground level, a generous reception and exhibition space addresses Euston Road, alongside a public café and education and event spaces facing Argyle Square. A new step-free Underground entrance connects directly to the pedestrian tunnel beneath Euston Road, integrating the building into the wider King’s Cross interchange. Below ground, a lower-ground auditorium sits alongside back-of-house facilities, cycle storage and plant.
We provided structural and civil engineering to realise this ambition on a site shaped as much by infrastructure as by architecture. Just 50 metres from the interchange, Piccadilly line tunnels pass beneath the north-west corner, with the Metropolitan line running below Euston Road. Working within these constraints, we developed a robust concrete frame on a ten-by-ten-metre grid, balancing the demands of highly serviced laboratory space with long-term adaptability. Diaphragm floor plates transfer wind loads efficiently to two reinforced concrete cores, ensuring stability without compromising planning flexibility.
Laboratory floors are designed to accommodate higher imposed loads and stringent vibration criteria. An optional structural topping enhances mass and stiffness where required, safeguarding sensitive research environments. A double-skin façade integrates with the structure to support natural ventilation, planting and solar control, contributing to reduced operational energy.
Below ground, a secant-piled retaining wall enables a two-storey basement, founded on a concrete raft that mitigates complex interaction with the tunnels beneath. Targeting BREEAM Outstanding, Belgrove House sets a confident structural and environmental benchmark for this prominent London gateway.
