Bell Phillips' park in a gasholder opens at King's Cross

Bell Phillips Architects’ pocket park inside a listed Victorian gasholder has opened at Argent’s King’s Cross development.

Gasholder Park is a circular lawn at the edge of the Regent’s Canal, with a 30m-diameter polished stainless steel canopy encircling the edge like a continuous colonnade. Arup provided structural assessment on the project.

Constructed in the 1850s, Gasholder No. 8 once formed part of the largest gas works in London and was a familiar landmark until it was decommissioned in 2000.

The fragile 25 metre-high circular guide frame was dismantled from its old location, where Pancras Square is now, in 2011. It was then refurbished by Shepley Engineers in Yorkshire, before being re-erected in 2013 next to schools and apartments in the Plimsoll Building. Dan Pearson Studio designed new planting around the frame.

Three other historic gasholders have been dismantled and are being rebuilt next to Gasholder Park where they are being re-used as part of an apartment development designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.

Hari Phillips, partner at Bell Phillips Architects which won a design competition in 2009, said: “Gasholder Park is a fantastic project which combines the industrial heritage of King’s Cross with contemporary architecture to create a unique place.

“To design a new use for such a well-known London landmark was both a daunting responsibility and an unmissable opportunity.

“We have hugely enjoyed watching Gasholder Park take shape and we hope that it will become a much-loved public space as King’s Cross continues to emerge as one of London’s most interesting new quarters.”