KOVA KX, Native Land and AshbyCapital’s 70,000 sq ft life sciences development has topped out, marking a key milestone for the project. We were delighted to joined by LifeArc and our project partners on site to mark the occasion.

Located on Judd Street in King’s Cross, KOVA KX has been designed by Stiff + Trevillion Architects, with 75% of the existing five-storey Edwardian building being retained.

The lab-enabled workspace was fully pre-let last summer to LifeArc, a self-funded medical research organisation ahead of the anticipated completion of the building. It was the largest life sciences letting in the UK in 2025, and the largest in London since 2022.

KOVA KX is set to deliver a high-quality science and technology workspace, situated in a convenient location within London’s Knowledge Quarter. As part of the development, a valuable two-storey extension has been added, increasing the net floor area from 55,000 to 70,000 sq. ft.

The all-electric retrofitted workspace is targeting BREEAM Outstanding rating and an EPC A rating. KOVA KX has been designed to achieve embodied carbon of just 250-300kg CO2E/sq. m – much lower than the LETI 2030 embodied carbon goals.

It has been fantastic to see the progress on site in recent months, and we look forward to seeing the retrofitted workspace once it completes in 2027. A huge thank you to all our project partners for their dedication in reaching this milestone.