The Mills Fabrica | New home for sustainable innovators

Vertical farming units at Fabrica X grow fresh herbs and fruit that will be used in the kitchen of the ground café

A new landmark platform in King’s Cross, The Mills Fabrica offers a multifaceted co-working space and concept store for social and sustainable innovations. 

Fabrica stems from heritage revitalisation project The Mills, led by Nan Fung Group in Hong Kong, that has transformed its historical cotton mills into a techstyle, cultural centre, as they call it. The Mills Fabrica is the new UK hub, focused on pushing sustainable innovation and creativity, whilst looking at consumerism and advancing regenerative solutions for the future. 

The Mills Fabrica is situation in King’s Cross, one of London’s renowned design districts

Housed within a three-storey Victorian warehouse, there’s an experiential concept store and innovation gallery for sustainable brands, a tech lab for prototyping, a powerful start-up incubation programme and curated events dedicated to nurturing a community of sustainable innovators. The large, social space was reimagined by architects Barr Gazetas and design firm Untold Interiors, and now brings the world’s of tech and lifestyle together.

The reception area offers a convivial place with comfy seating for designers and innovators to come together and share ideas

On the ground floor you’ll find Fabrica X, a curated retail store and exhibition space that showcases the latest fashion and food tech innovations. Each heralds “biodiverse material use, minimal waste and ethical production, whilst educating and empowering customers to make design-led, responsible purchases,” they explain. 

Techstyle brand Unspun at Fabrica X uses algorithms to digitally design jeans around your 3D avatar

The aim of The Mills Fabrica is to look for innovations improving sustainability in the agriculture, food, and textile industries. One notable startup that they are championing is digital apparel brand Unspun who make custom-jeans to avoid wasteful manufacturing. Vistors can explore immersive installations, designed by landscape architect Wayward, and experience the UK’s first 3D body scanning technology to create custom-fit denim by Unspun. 

Supporting emerging start-ups revolutionising food and fashion, The Mills Fabrica has set up an incubator programme that will also inhabit the space. This includes Colorifix (pictured below), a brand developing a revolutionary dying process to help the textile industry dramatically reduce its environmental impact. 

Colorifix at Fabrica X is the first company to use a biological process to produce and deposit pigments onto textiles

Even on the upper floors, containing membership-only and flexible offices, the design by Untold Interiors focuses on specially commissioned pieces by leading circular designers such as Fernando Laposse, Charlotte Kidger, and Dutch designer Dirk Vander Kooij. This weaves The Mill’s Fabrica’s environmental philosophy into the very fabric of the space. 

On the second floor the open-plan space consists of a kitchen area, seating, and private office meeting rooms

Photography by Mariell Lind Hansen.

Discover more about The Mills Fabrica and visit the innovative hub.

Read other design news stories on enki.


Looking for Something?