Natural Rhythm

Few people would have described semi-industrial Kings Cross as ‘inspirational and playful’ before its regeneration started a decade ago. But today, they are some of the design descriptors that characterise the vibrant, revitalised neighbourhood.

They’re also two of the elements that Conran and Partners echo in their interior design of Cadence, a striking mixed-use building designed by Alison Brooks Architects within the new Kings Cross masterplan. The building, developed by Argent and set to complete in Autumn 2022, will be made up of 103 studios, one, two and three bedroom apartments. Construction has only just started, but the distinctive arches of the design were the starting point for the first show flat. “The architecture of the building has a strong, bold design and a lot of character, and gave us a rich source of inspiration,” says Simon Kincaid, a partner at Conran and lead interior designer on the project. Brooks was inspired by the railway arches at nearby St Pancras Station as well as classical arches. “We looked at curves, radiuses and the arches. As interior designers, it’s about making sure the inside has a coherent relationship with the outside,” Kincaid adds.

The design approach does this through an emphasis on curves, playful irregular patterns and single colour blocks in the interior detailing, with subtle references to the arches at the top and colonnaded base of the terracotta, brick, external façade. Large arched windows in some of the more spacious apartments and the residents’ lounge heighten the theme, as do the soaring, vaulted arches of the lobby.

An echo of the building’s subtle curves can be seen in the living room at the show apartment in a rust-coloured coffee table, which has a playful swoop at one end and an arched base at the other – part of the FORM collection from Nort Studio in Antwerp. The rounded corners and block colour are also taken up in the radius, milky-hued bathroom tiling and the shape of the mirror. In the bedroom, a bespoke crescent headboard designed by Conran and Partners punctuates the arched theme. This is offset by a playful asymmetry in the two Nort Studio contrasting bedside tables, one light and the other dark, and in the pendant lights by two Scandinavian designers, for Pholc and for Nuura.

In the hallway, Climb Shelves from La Chance, designed by Bashko Trybek, add a quirky, irregular shape into the mix. “We like to source from designer-makers, some in the UK or Europe, which have playful, interesting pieces that fit with the design,” said Kincaid. Classics such as the Knoll Wassily lounge chair by Marcel Breuer, sit alongside playful, newer elements.

The bedroom’s moody blue walls and warm grey in the main living spaces were chosen as “a reaction to not having a white box interior,” says Kincaid. Each of the 103 units – and the residents’ lounge – share a similar design palette. “We aim to bring out the feeling of a home curated and acquired through time.”