York House

Inward-looking and lacking clarity, York House was an unloved office block with dark, inhospitable interiors that sat vacant by the 2010s, despite its prime location between King’s Cross and Angel. Developer-operator The Office Group (now Fora) identified the opportunity to evolve the building, appointing dMFK to transform it into a contemporary coworking destination.

Flexibility was central to the brief, with the building required to support teams from 2 to 2,000 people. The ambition was to bring daylight deep into the plan, resolve the building’s complex and unwelcoming façade, and create an amenity-rich workplace offering a range of settings for social collaboration and focused work. Improving sustainability, increasing usable area and establishing a clearer, more generous relationship with the public realm were key priorities throughout.

The transformation centres on two carefully calibrated extensions. An elegant five-storey entrance addition, constructed in cross-laminated timber and wrapped in an angled lattice brick façade, redefines the building’s presence on the street. Generous apertures puncture this permeable skin, drawing daylight deep inside and opening up views along Pentonville Road. At ground level, pocket parks on either side soften arrival and enliven the street, replacing a once forbidding frontage with a welcoming threshold.

Above, a lightweight roof extension formed in CLT is clad in a zigzag perforated aluminium screen that blends softly with the sky. The new level opens directly onto a landscaped terrace accessible to all users, extending the workplace outdoors. Internally, the building was stripped back to reveal its concrete frame, with structure and services carefully integrated to maintain calm, uncluttered workspaces. Together, these interventions transform York House into a sociable, sustainable workplace shaped by light, access and adaptability.