Facebook building gives BAM its biggest ever contract

17 Dec 18 BAM Construction has been named main contractor for the construction of 11-21 Canal Reach at London’s King’s Cross.

11-21 Canal Reach has been designed by Bennett Associates

King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) has chosen BAM to build what will be the UK headquarters of social media enterprise Facebook.

Although contract price and gross development value remain commercially confidential, BAM said that it was the largest contract that the company had ever won.

The suite of buildings, on Plots T2 and T3, has been designed by Bennett Associates to be the lowest-carbon high-quality commercial office building in the UK. When they are finished they will become known as 11-21 Canal Reach.

The building on plot T2 will be 12 storeys high at its highest point at the southern end of the site, stepping down to nine storeys towards the north. Roof terraces will provide views across the city.

BAM recently completed the newest King’s Cross landmark, Coal Drops Yard. It is already onsite on the new project, with a substantial enabling and substructure works package before the main scheme starts in earnest. Completion is expected in early 2021.

Construction director Ewen Hunter, who has led for BAM on several of the buildings at King’s Cross, said: “Nothing at King’s Cross is ordinary. Every building is ambitious and the client is constantly pushing what can be achieved for itself and others. Our teams embrace the challenge and our integrated model, involving our design and engineering businesses, makes us an ideal fit for the scale and complexity of this big building with a demanding design.”