Remediation of 15-storey King’s Cross scheme expected to complete in August
Repair work has finally started on a 15-storey luxury housing block in King’s Cross more than a year after a piece of the building’s cladding fell off.
The 130-home Tapestry Building was built by Kier in 2016 for developer Argent and designed by Stirling Prize-winning architect Niall McLaughlin Architects.
Facade panels on the still occupied building are still being held in place by straps more than 16 months after the structural issues were still identified.
A spokesperson for Argent said work on repairing the building started around two weeks ago and is “progressing well”, with remediation expected to complete in August.
The developer said the work is being carried out with Kier and the scheme’s original facade engineer Techrete, with Arup providing independent oversight.
It will consist of providing an additional fixing point for each facade panel to provide a “robust, safe, long-term solution, which is also effectively invisible”, with the temporary strapping being removed panel by panel.
It comes eight months after the remedial solution for the building was agreed in principle following investigations carried out by Kier with independent oversight provided by Arup.
The block includes both high-end market housing and social housing along with a restaurant, cafe and an energy centre for the wider King’s Cross development.
It was handed an RIBA London award in 2017 with judges praising its “exquisite, sculpted facade”, which consists of patterned terracotta panels made of lightweight, glass reinforced concrete panels.
Ramboll was structural engineer on the scheme, working alongside QS Gardiner & Theobald, glazing firm Glass Solutions and landscape Architect Dan Pearson. Niall Mclaughlin Architects was the concept architect.
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