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Coal Drops Yard
Coal Drops Yard (image: Raquel Diniz)

Ten King’s Cross Characters

This shortlist was originally created as a self-guided walking tour for the 2026 Open House Festival, explores a collection of fascinating buildings in a compact area of London. Download the illustrated map which accompanies it below.


St Pancras Station

Above: St Pancras Station (image: Mariangela)

  1. St Pancras Station by George Gilbert Scott

First opened in 1866, the grand red brick and terracotta façade combines Gothic and Renaissance influences. Hard to imagine it came close to demolition in the 1960s…

  1. The Standard Hotel by Sydney Cook

Converted by Orms in 2019, this former annexe of Camden Town Hall was originally designed in Brutalist style by borough architect Sydney Cook in 1970. Check out the famous pill-shaped exterior lift!

  1. 6 Whidborne Street by unknown architect

Now a distinctive, skinny home, this building was formerly a butcher’s shop. The ‘oeil de boeuf’ (ox-eye) window at the top, and the mouldings and tiles at ground level, give it bags of character.

Kings Cross Station

Above: King’s Cross Station (image: Digitalwhiz)

  1. King’s Cross Station by Lewis Cubitt

Built in 1850-52, Cubitt’s design for King’s Cross was simpler and cleaner than many contemporary ornate stations, using yellow stock brick and dominated by two huge arches. The station’s 2012 extension (the King’s Cross Western Concourse by John McAslan & Partners) features an impressive sweeping lattice roof – Europe’s largest single-span semi-circular station structure.

  1. One Pancras Square by David Chipperfield Architects

Almost 400 columns, made from recycled cast iron and detailed with a woven pattern, dominate the exterior, some framing balconies and covered public areas.

  1. Platform 37 by BIG and Heatherwick Studio

Longer than The Shard is tall, Platform 37 is a new office for Google, on a new public street, King’s Boulevard. A family of characterful timber store fronts create variety and interest at ground level.

  1. Coal Drops Yard by Heatherwick Studio

Now a thriving retail and leisure destination, this was where coal arriving by rail from the north was sorted for distribution. The roofs of the two Victorian sheds were elegantly extended to meet in mid air.

  1. Gasholder Park by Bell Phillips

A new garden for the growing local community, framed by a mirror-polished stainless steel colonnade within the restored Victorian gasholder framework.

  1. 22 Handyside Street by Coffey Architects

This office building is built over listed railway tunnels – twisting it diagonally helped distribute the load, and made a more interesting public corner. The embossed, perforated aluminium panels add depth, interest and a bit of sparkle.

Cadence

Above: Cadence (image: Paul Riddle)

  1. Cadence by Alison Brooks Architects

You can’t miss this distinctive building looking over the length of Lewis Cubitt Park. With its warm red brick, irregular arches, and recessed balconies, it gives a little more the longer you look at it.


King's Cross walking tour map

Use together with our Spotter’s Guide to Human Buildings to discover just what makes such diverse buildings joyful, interesting and human.