King’s Cross – S2 Building

S2, on Handyside Street, is a central part of the ongoing large-scale regeneration of King’s Cross, London and has been fully let to Google, as centre of operations for its DeepMind artificial intelligence company.

The role of SES Engineering Services (SES) in the development of this 11 floor, 180,000 sq ft office building was to deliver the mechanical, electrical and public health services. SES worked with principal contractor Midgard and longstanding developer client Argent to deliver their 6th project at King’s Cross, following the success of such schemes as the Plimsoll Building and Gasholders London.

For S2, SES deployed their market leading digital expertise, using the latest Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology. SES became the first M&E contractor to achieve the Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) BIM Level 2 certification, now mandatory for all Whitehall procured projects.

SES also utilised their dedicated offsite manufacturing facility, Prism to produce 22 prefabricated risers, low temperature hot water (LTHW) pump skids and two packaged chilled water (CHW) roof plantrooms.

Through manufacturing products off site, Prism produces significant savings in man hours and costs; as well as having health & safety and environmental benefits. Offsite manufacturing has been a crucial part of SES’ business strategy for well over 11 years and is becoming increasingly sought after in the construction industry, particularly for complex urban locations such as King’s Cross.