Frame completes on latest King’s Cross commercial block

The latest steel-framed building to top-out at the large King’s Cross development is Building S2, situated on Handyside Street.

Already fully let, the 12-storey building will offer 23,000m² of space and is set to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ environmental rating.

Working on behalf of main contractor Carillion, Severfield has erected 1,700t of steelwork for the project.

Building S2 has reaped the rewards of a design change from a post-tensioned frame to a steel frame. The initial design had the building based around a fairly tight structural grid, which was later deemed to be too constrained with too many internal columns for modern office requirements.

The design was changed to a steel solution because the material offered a more economical method to achieve the desired spans and service integration.

According to the project team, another benefit of steel was the ease with which it framed the numerous architectural set-backs and cantilevers, primarily the west façade, south set-back terraces and a south-east cantilevered corner.