The Varnish Works
kings cross, london
The Varnish Works is a heritage workspace in King’s Cross. The project was developed by Endurance Land, a Member of the Nan Fung Group, and delivered with workplace design specialists We Are Two.
The completed scheme provides fully fitted, self-contained workspace in one of London’s most connected commercial districts.
The project combines the building’s industrial fabric with modern workplace functionality. It includes collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, breakout areas, workstations and reception areas, supported by a planting scheme designed to strengthen the arrival experience, soften the interior architecture and bring greenery into key workplace settings.
The Varnish Works was once a varnish and pottery factory. Its history forms a central part of the building’s identity, with original features retained and used as a foundation for the interior design.
The building’s brickwork, crittall-style windows and steel beams set the tone for the refurbishment. Timber flooring was retained, sanded and re-varnished, while epoxy-coated concrete floors helped preserve an industrial character in a more polished workplace setting. Custom circular light fittings were introduced, drawing on the building’s former industrial use.
The workspace was upgraded into a Grade A office. The design approach balanced character, flexibility and commercial performance. The ground floor was designed for coworking and events, while the split-floor layout supports varied tenancy options. Modular furniture allows the space to adapt to different occupier needs.
Sustainability was part of the refurbishment strategy. Retained timber flooring and bulkheads reduced the need for replacement materials, while Autex acoustic panels, Durat surfaces and Corian worktops were selected for their sustainability credentials.
The Varnish Works sits within the wider King’s Cross Knowledge Quarter, an area that has become a notable London location for technology and artificial intelligence companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI and Perplexity, alongside the area’s association with DeepMind.
Planteria’s planting brief covered a range of workplace settings across the building. These included arrival areas, collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, breakout areas, workstations and reception.
The brief called for a mix of floor-standing displays, cabinet-top planting and tabletop arrangements. A designer orchid display was chosen for the reception to create a premium first impression. Larger statement plants were used to create visual impact in arrival and collaboration spaces, while smaller planting was introduced into workstations, shelving and meeting room areas.
The planting was also intended to reinforce workplace experience through biophilic design. This meant using greenery to support wellbeing, improve spatial character and soften the building’s interior architecture.
The scheme combined floor-standing displays, multi-pot clusters, cabinet-top planting and tabletop displays. This allowed planting to work at different scales across the workspace, from major focal points to more detailed greenery in workstation and shelving areas.
Several multi-pot clusters were used to create focal points and help define zones within meeting rooms and collaborative areas. Multiple 200cm feature plants were used as visual landmarks, giving the scheme a stronger architectural presence.
At reception, a designer orchid display provided a more formal planted feature. In workstation areas, cabinet-top planting introduced greenery without relying only on large floor-standing displays.
The container and finish palette was natural and contemporary. It included travertine, terracotta, cream, natural clay tones, chalk white and velvet green. These finishes worked alongside the wider interior palette of oak workstations, pale green accents, bronze-finished glazing tracks, timber flooring, concrete finishes and retained industrial materials.
Supporting Workplace Experience
The planting contributes to the building’s workplace experience by bringing natural elements into the main areas of use: reception, collaboration spaces, meeting rooms, breakout areas and workstations.
Large tropical plants help add scale and softness to the interior. This is particularly relevant in a building with strong industrial features such as brickwork, steel beams, crittall-style windows and epoxy-coated concrete floors. The planting helps balance these harder architectural materials with natural form, colour and texture.
In meeting rooms and collaborative areas, clustered planting creates focal points and supports zoning. Around workstations and cabinet-top areas, smaller planting brings greenery into everyday working settings. The reception orchid display supports the arrival experience and gives the front-of-house area a more considered finish.
The scheme supports those aims through a consistent planting language across the building, using a mix of statement plants and smaller displays rather than relying on one type of planting intervention.
The Varnish Works brings a former varnish and pottery factory back into commercial use as a flexible, fully fitted workspace in King’s Cross. Its refurbishment preserves key industrial features while improving environmental performance, workplace functionality and tenant appeal.
Planteria’s planting scheme supports this approach through a mix of large architectural tropical plants, reception planting, cabinet-top displays and smaller tabletop arrangements. The planting adds natural texture and scale across arrival, collaboration, meeting and workstation areas, helping the workspace feel more considered while remaining rooted in the building’s documented design and material character.
