Kings Place

Opened in 2008, this Jeremy Dixon/Edward Jones-designed arts-and-office complex features London's first new purpose-built recital halls since the 1980s, with the 420-seater Hall 1 deserving special mention both acoustically and aesthetically. The venue is now home to the London Sinfonietta and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; jazz, folk and indie rock, talks and lectures and comedy also make the bill occasionally. A playful if rather imposing glass structure located in a borderline-wasteland just five minutes behind King's Cross St Pancras tube station — and two minutes from the bar Central Station [see entry] — Kings Place also features two art galleries, plus bar, café and semi-serious dining facilities. Note that the names of this venue and its geographical setting (Kings Cross) do not take an apostrophe, whereas the local train/Tube station does.