German Gymnasium Restaurant

Once Britain's first purpose-built gymnasium, the German Gymnasium is a Grade II listed building occupying a prominent site between King's Cross Station and St Pancras International. It has been given a new life as a destination restaurant within the King's Cross Masterplan. The venue is made up of a ground floor Grand Cafe, first floor restaurant and the Meister Bar. We were commissioned to restore and repair the fabric of the building to a shell and core finish to enable subsequent fit out by Conran & Partners.

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The new interiors blend restored original features and modern interpretations inspired by the original use

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Context

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External brickwork was cleaned, repaired and repointed in matching material; a number of openings at ground floor level were adjusted to improve permeability

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The original volume has been restored by removing as much of the first floor as possible to bring back into view the large, laminated timber trusses and closed boarded roof

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The long galleries than once ran along either side of the first floor were restored, building from the original timber structures still buried beneath later finishes

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Warm, walnut timber panelling and black and grey distressed leather upholstery juxtaposed with fresh, contemporary insertions

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An etching of the gym in 1866 shows the original double height space

City: London NC1
Use: Retail
Client: King's Cross Central Partnership
Status: Completed
Size: 1,585 sqm
Collaborators: Restaurant tenant: D&D London
Fit-out: Conran & Partners
Cost: Gardiner & Theobald
Contractor: BAM Construction
Structures: Arup
Services: Hoare Lea
Landscape: Townshend Landscape Architects
Planning: Nathanial Litchfield & Partners