Stanhope has submitted plans for an extension of the British Library in Euston, NW1, as part of a joint venture with Mitsui Fudosan.
The scheme will feature about 600,000 sq ft of commercial offices, 100,000 sq ft of new library space and a new home for the Alan Turing Institute.
The scheme will be built on a largely undeveloped 2.8-acre plot at the back of the existing building, next to the Francis Crick Institute for biomedical research.
Architects at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners have designed the scheme, which will feature an eight-storey internal foyer connecting two blocks.
The first three floors will house the library extension, with commercial offices above. It will also include underground enabling works at part of the site for a proposed Crossrail 2 station.
The library teamed up with developers to build commercial office space to fund the extension, with hopes of capitalising on the emerging Knowledge Quarter district.
Charles Walford, of SMBL Developments – the joint venture between Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan UK – said: “The scheme comprises much-needed space for the British Library, infrastructure for Crossrail 2, and new lab-enabled commercial space for businesses and organisations wanting to locate in the Knowledge Quarter, especially those in the life sciences sector.”
The plans have been dubbed St Pancras Transformed. After initial pre-application plans emerged, SMBL’s designs were reworked following talks with the local community and Camden Council.
They showed changes to reduce the impact on residents of the neighbouring Somers Town and surrounding streets, such as pulling back one of the blocks and setting back some of the upper levels.
The demolition of the British Library Centre for Conservation, which was only completed in 2007, will still go ahead despite opposition from heritage groups such as the Twentieth Century Society.
Its contents will be moved into “like-for-like accommodation”.
Developers added that the scheme would open up the library campus to the north-east and west sides, with new publicly accessible spaces, squares and routes to connect the library to Somers Town and St Pancras.
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