Picture credit: Winston Tjia on Unsplash
After stop-start building works adjacent to Glasgow’s Queen Street station, Network Rail has now appointed an architect to design a landmark office building. The Edinburgh-based Comprehensive Design Architects (CDA) will work on the building, alongside development partners Blocwork and Arup.
The scheme includes a new station entrance, enhanced retail space inside the station, as well as additional public spaces and station upgrades. And the area will also benefit from the city’s Avenues project, which will see sixteen streets lined with trees and made safer for pedestrians and cyclists, linking up with a wider cycling network.
Glasgow isn’t the only city with grand plans for the area around their train station. Similar schemes are proposed for Liverpool Street, Waterloo and Victoria stations in London, although the Liverpool Street scheme has attracted more controversy than the Glasgow development.
The initial plans for Liverpool Street involved a 21-storey skyscraper, towering 108m (354ft) above the station. This has now been reduced to a 97m (318ft) tower, on top of the station concourse, with a stepped design to reduce the impact on St Paul’s Cathedral.
This station redevelopment will include landmark entrances on Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate and Exchange Square, along with additional ticket barriers, lifts, escalators and new toilets.
As the busiest station in Britain, serving 118 million people a year, the upgrades will allow the station to accommodate over 200 million passengers and will also make the station more accessible. Passenger numbers are forecast to increase to 158 million by 2041, so there is a need to increase capacity.
Much like St Pancras, the new and improved Liverpool Street is expected to become a destination in its own right, with new retail, leisure and workspaces. Not everyone is happy about this development. The public consultation was largely positive, with 2,000 people commenting, and nearly three out of four supporting the project.
However, speaking to The Standard, James Hughes, director of The Victorian Society, said, “What has been shown to date is a source of profound concern. As envisaged, the height of the tower proposed directly over the station concourse, the extent of demolition of the existing station and the large amount of retail proposed within the historic train sheds would cause a serious level of harm to the station, its setting and the surrounding conservation area.”
Of course, it’s understandable and perhaps right that people should object to this kind of development, especially so close to St Paul’s. However, the reality is that it’s difficult to fund an upgrade to an existing station without adding in a retail, leisure or workspace element.
Some may not want more towers and office buildings in UK cities, but there’s no doubt they will continue to go up, even when they threaten to block a historic view. Going back to the Glasgow development mentioned at the start of this piece, it will be interesting to see whether the design of the office building is welcomed or reviled. No doubt we will find out in due course.
Meanwhile, if you need any assistance with the structural elements of an upcoming project, please do get in touch.
