Camley Street

Camley Street Natural Park is a protected nature reserve and Site of Interest in Natural Conservation (SINC) in the King’s Cross regeneration area.

A new building acts as a gatehouse, greeting visitors to the park, will perform a variety of functions and is designed to be a flexible space, allowing the London Wildlife Trust to deliver a range of community and learning programmes that will engage visitors in nature and wildlife on site. The building will also provide the trust with an income to support the ongoing running costs of the nature reserve through an outdoor café and evening events.

The roof form with three inverted ‘hoppers’ take inspiration from the industrial heritage of the site as a coal drop. These roof forms were developed to maximise natural light and allow natural ventilation of the main spaces.

The rooflights allow direct sunlight to enter, but are configured to ensure this sunlight is intercepted on a vertical surface above the occupants field of vision.

Concept diagrams - managing light and sunlight

The building has a minimal heating demand which was originally designed to be provided by a water source heat pump, using the Regents Canal as a low-grade heat source. This unfortunately was a victim of cost cutting at the start of construction. Piped infrastructure has been put in place to enable a connection to the canal later.

The facade includes generously sized secure opening vents to allow heat purge when the building is open or closed

The main event space can be arranged into two smaller acoustically separated rooms. The building services have been designed to allow the rooms to work individually or as a single space. The roof vents allow warm air exhaust in hot weather, but are also intended to be used as the fresh air inlet in cold weather.

Reviewing the building services installations during the construction phase.

Since reopening in 2021, the building has welcomed over 200,000 visitors, particularly school children and underserved communities.