{"id":757472,"date":"2024-09-25T11:30:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T10:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=757472"},"modified":"2024-09-25T16:04:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T15:04:29","slug":"fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched","title":{"rendered":"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plans drawn-up by the practice for the King\u2019s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) and Related Argent were submitted<\/a> to Camden Council last month for a single-storey timber building with a shingle roof.<\/p>\n

However, opponents, including The Angel of the North<\/em> creator Gormley, argued that the scheme would \u2018compromise\u2019 the open space at the southern end of Coal Drops Yard. Speaking to the AJ in August, the artist said the scheme was \u2018simply a bad idea\u2019.<\/p>\n

Similar complaints were made by other residents of King\u2019s Cross.<\/p>\n

As a consequence, KCCLP and Related Argent, the team behind the Heatherwick Studio-designed Coal Drops Yard (2018)<\/a>, have announced today (25 September) it is withdrawing the application for the pavilion and will be rethinking its design.<\/p>\n

David Partridge, chairman of Related Argent, said: \u2018We are pausing the planning application for the proposed Coal<\/span> Drops Yard Pavilion to provide time to review the feedback we have received and then evolve the proposals.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u2018We will now continue our engagement locally to help us refine aspects of the design proposals and identify a solution that supports the vibrancy of the area and creates more reasons to visit, at the same time as continuing to respect heritage.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fathom, KCCLP and Related Argent said in consultation documents that the pavilion would create a new landmark to help visitors navigate the site, which opened in 2018, and provide a more active entrance from Granary Square.<\/p>\n

Fathom\u2019s scheme would \u2018create a more vibrant place with additional landscaping and dwell space, improve navigation in and around Coal Drops Yard and create new accessible retail opportunities, including a grab-and-go offer\u2019, the consultation documents said.<\/p>\n

Planning documents also argued that the submitted scheme would honour the Victorian architecture found across the yard, as well as Heatherwick Studio\u2019s \u2018kissing roofs\u2019 at the northern end of the site.<\/p>\n

However, Gormley, said in a statement last month: \u2018If immediate retail gain should be allowed to compromise the open centre of Coal Drops Yard, it would deny the very thing that the whole site depends on: open space for public enjoyment, access and connection.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Heatherwick

Heatherwick Studio’s Coal Drops Yard on completion<\/p>\n\t

Source:Hufton + Crow<\/p><\/div>\n

Gormley, who resides in the WilkinsonEyre and Jonathan Tuckey Design Studio-designed gasholders north of Coal Drops Yard, continued: \u2018To build in Coal Drops is simply a bad idea and a bad understanding of how areas of London need to be reimagined. This depends on allowing\u00a0\u00a0social interaction and occupation to grow in their own way.<\/p>\n

\u2018The respect that has been paid to the industrial heritage, as in the fountains and seating areas of (nearby) Granary Square, is an invitation to linger and associate with others and the place itself. King\u2019s Cross is unique in the way it does this, amplified by the care that has been taken\u00a0\u00a0in planting everywhere.\u2019<\/p>\n

Coal Drops Yard is part of Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates\u2019 wider masterplan for the regeneration of King\u2019s Cross, which is shortlisted<\/a> for the 2024 Stirling Prize.<\/p>\n

Publisher Martin Rynja, who lives nearby, told the AJ last month he believed the central space of Coal Drops Yard was one reason why the King\u2019s Cross masterplan was shortlisted, in comments echoing Gormley\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Rynja said: \u2018It is very sad to see a proposal that seeks to cover the Coal Drops Yard, which won the national RIBA Award 2019 for its successful balance between conservation, design, and commercial development as a unique win, win, win.\u2019<\/p>\n

He continued: \u2018Its high architectural quality is the reason why the area has turned out to be so amazing. To see that masterplan undermined is disappointing. The Coal Drops Yard is already currently used as a hub of constant activity, as it would have been when built, and why one of the few empty spaces in the area need to be filled in with permanent buildings is not really clear.\u2019<\/p>\n

There is no schedule for submission of a new scheme.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fathom Architects’ pavilion proposal for Coal Drops Yard<\/p>\n\t

Source:Fathom Architects<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Antony Gormley<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I am delighted that Argent has withdrawn this application. It shows that their concern for the public use of open space is being given serious consideration when challenged by retail benefit. This is a really positive sign and we look forward to further positive discussions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Save Coal Drops Yard campaign<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Everyone who worked together on the Save Coal Drops Yard campaign is delighted with the withdrawal and grateful that Related Argent, on reflection, agrees it is the right decision, too, not to build on the heritage site.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We are absolutely thrilled that the markets and events that the Coal Drops Yard square hosts throughout the year will continue to support creatives at Central St Martin and so many others further afield in London.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We also grateful for the support of deputy mayor Justine Simmons in this respect.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plans drawn-up by the practice for the King\u2019s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) and Related Argent were submitted to Camden Council last month for a single-storey timber building with a shingle roof. However, opponents, including The Angel of the North creator Gormley, argued that the scheme would \u2018compromise\u2019 the open space at the southern end …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131789,"featured_media":753116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[6222,3917,1270,6221],"yoast_head":"\nFathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fathom Architects\u2019 proposal for a retail pavilion at Coal Drops Yard in King\u2019s Cross, London, has been pulled following significant opposition led by artist Antony Gormley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fathom Architects\u2019 proposal for a retail pavilion at Coal Drops Yard in King\u2019s Cross, London, has been pulled following significant opposition led by artist Antony Gormley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-25T10:30:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-25T15:04:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/21154035\/herocdy-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gino Spocchia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gino Spocchia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched\",\"name\":\"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-25T10:30:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-25T15:04:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/779aa0e54c8c20bf4509b8cce80c65b0\"},\"description\":\"Fathom Architects\u2019 proposal for a retail pavilion at Coal Drops Yard in King\u2019s Cross, London, has been pulled following significant opposition led by artist Antony Gormley\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/779aa0e54c8c20bf4509b8cce80c65b0\",\"name\":\"Gino Spocchia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ff22f86c19263bf2f9ca73b4d596096f\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ace0cb1667a73da3fb8f9f2e77f8b97?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ace0cb1667a73da3fb8f9f2e77f8b97?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gino Spocchia\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/gino-spocchia\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched","description":"Fathom Architects\u2019 proposal for a retail pavilion at Coal Drops Yard in King\u2019s Cross, London, has been pulled following significant opposition led by artist Antony Gormley","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched","og_description":"Fathom Architects\u2019 proposal for a retail pavilion at Coal Drops Yard in King\u2019s Cross, London, has been pulled following significant opposition led by artist Antony Gormley","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2024-09-25T10:30:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-25T15:04:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/08\/21154035\/herocdy-1024x683.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gino Spocchia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gino Spocchia","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched","name":"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-09-25T10:30:42+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-25T15:04:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/779aa0e54c8c20bf4509b8cce80c65b0"},"description":"Fathom Architects\u2019 proposal for a retail pavilion at Coal Drops Yard in King\u2019s Cross, London, has been pulled following significant opposition led by artist Antony Gormley","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fathoms-controversial-coal-drops-yard-pavilion-proposal-ditched#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fathom\u2019s controversial Coal Drops Yard pavilion proposal ditched"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/779aa0e54c8c20bf4509b8cce80c65b0","name":"Gino Spocchia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ff22f86c19263bf2f9ca73b4d596096f","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ace0cb1667a73da3fb8f9f2e77f8b97?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ace0cb1667a73da3fb8f9f2e77f8b97?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gino Spocchia"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/gino-spocchia"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131789"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757472"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":757679,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757472\/revisions\/757679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}