Tapestry in King’s Cross

Tapestry is a fifteen story multi-use building designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects in the heart of the King’s Cross regeneration area. It is a mix of public and private spaces, incorporating residential apartments, a multi-use games area, and a centralized car park. The building is dressed in a rich tapestry of ornament. The architecture has been inspired by the work of Owen Jones and his principles on decoration set out in The Grammar of Ornament.

Holmes Wood’s design for Tapestry pays homage to the history of makers and craft, reflecting the building and the area’s historic role in creative industries which continues to this day. Inspired the local history of makers and craft (which also inspired the exterior cladding of the building), the team developed a grid and geometric pattern that underpinned the layouts and featured as an engraved detail throughout the scheme. This “thread” carried through the light typography and graphic elements such as the arrows and pictograms.

To integrate with the interiors, the face color of each sign changed from light to dark depending on the wall colors so that the signs felt as though they were “extruded” from the walls. The return edges of the signs were wrapped in the same wood veneer as used in the interiors. The thread detail extended to all elements in the scheme, including a manifestation on the glazing. The car park demanded a bolder approach, but carried a thicker line through, with the same visual language. Our design looked to preserve the old and weave it into the new for today’s generation of residents.

Design Team

Alex Wood (director), Lucy Holmes (director), Amanda Morrison (designer), Shomil Shah (designer), Katie Bevan (designer), Eva Köhle (designer), Ian Moore (designer)