Kingston North
Kingston North

Kingston North

The Property team first identified the potential acquisition in December 2018

Part of a network of regional support offices for Nikon, the office premises totalled 23,486 sq ft built in the 1980’s; largely open plan, brick built with mansard roof typical of the period sitting on 0.75 acres 10 miles from Central London. A good location, on the opposite side of town 3 miles from the existing Kingston store built in 2006.

Big Yellow completed the purchase of the freehold from Aberdeen Standard by mid February 2019. The new store proposal is for a self storage facility of approximately 55,800 sq ft MLA.

The construction teams first action was to dismantle the link between the office premises and their former warehouse located in the industrial park whilst tidying up some of the landscaping which was largely overgrown

Simon Allen started the delicate negotiations with the local planning authority on the design of the new building. By September 2019 we received positive feedback from the officers. The design needed a few subtle tweaks but the officers were largely supportive of the principle. See below for a comparison of before and after which shows the design changes the architect made to make the proposal more acceptable. Big Yellow’s elevations are predominantly brick built with large glazed viewing panels to the front elevation to be sympathetic with the residential properties in the area.

The planning application for the new building was finally submitted to the Council on 27th November 2019. The determination process was badly affected by the Covid lockdown with a resolution to grant consent formally issued on 2nd September 2020

Architect – Mountford Pigott
Engineer – Campbell Reith
Project Manager and QS – Paragon
Principle Designer (Health & Safety) – RGP Development Services
M&E Services – Silcock Dawson

Outline Programme

Demolition, site clearance and enabling works – Spring/Summer 2021
Shell Construction – provisional start Summer 2021
Big Yellow Fit Out – due to commence Spring 2022
Store Opening – target Autumn 2022

2019

February

Nikon House, Kingston purchased

2019

October

Design Perspective from Mountford Pigott - The first task of the design was responding to the existing site parameters and creating a neighbourly building. Height, layout, vehicular access and building lines were carefully thought out to respond to the existing constraints and make the most of the opportunities the site presented.

Whilst the building is set back from the road, the set back is reduced and the buffer between road and building is infilled with soft landscaping to create a softer, colourful and visually pleasing interface with the footpath.

The frontage of the building is designed with a rhythmic treatment of glass and brick areas with the prominent southern corners finished in glass providing visual interest as the building is approached in either direction.