Author sits on York Way, on an awkward, roughly triangular, 1.1-hectare, sloping site. It is the northernmost development of the King’s Cross masterplan, and the plot came with numerous challenges. It straddles two London boroughs, is bounded by three different rail lines, and is punctured by rail tunnels. Karol Quinn, of David Morley Architects, who led on the scheme, explains that their plans had to go through the entire planning process twice, once in Camden and once in Islington. All in all, it’s easy to see why this was one of the last parts of the masterplan to be developed…

Author was conceived as a build-to-sell residential project. But in 2019, in response to market conditions, the decision was taken to pivot the project to become the first build-to-rent (BTR) development on the King’s Cross estate. As the King’s Cross Partnership lacked experience in the sector, they passed the project on to Related Argent, which had an extensive BTR portfolio in the US and ambitions to build one in the UK. Design work was already advanced at this point, but changes were needed to suit the new market.

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