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Work steps up on London's most ambitious station redevelopment
As these incredible images detail, constructions works are picking up pace at King’s Cross Station in the heart of London’s Borough of Camden. Designed by experienced architects John McAslan + Partners, the multi-phase scheme takes a three-pronged approach: re-use, restore, and new build. The various train sheds and buildings across the Western Range are being re-used, the Station’s original Grade I listed facade from 1852 is being uncovered and restored to its former splendour, and an extensive new Western Concourse will be inserted above the London Underground Ticketing Hall.
Arguably the most arresting of the scheme’s attributes is a towering steel funnel which welcomes travellers to the Station through its metal tendrils. Rising 20m from the station floor, the white fluted structure spans the entire 150m width of the Grade I listed Western Range drawing attention to the beautiful heritage architecture beneath which has been uncovered for the first time since 1972.
Chairman of John McAslan + Partners, John McAslan comments: “It’s incredible to watch the reinvention of the station taking shape into a compelling piece of place-making for London. You can already see how the Western Concourse – Europe’s largest single span station structure and the heart of the development – reconnects this much-loved Victorian terminus to its context. It’s immensely satisfying to see the project move forward at such pace and we look forward to celebrating the project’s completion in 2012 for the London Olympics.”
With the official opening date of the station only seven months away, work is really pressing on to hit the deadline. The images to the left show just how much of the funnel structure is now in place, with restoration procedures well underway and large sections of rebuffed brickwork gleaming through the steel columns. The five buildings that form the Western Range are being fully renewed, with the Northern Wing rebuilt to its original design after it was destroyed many years ago during WWII, and the Main Train Shed and adjacent Suburban Train Shed are also being restored and exposed to the public view.
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