Charlotte Fernández
UKIMEA Press Office,Leeds
London’s newest public realm, King’s Cross Square, is the final phase of Network Rail’s £550m redevelopment of King’s Cross Station and has opened today.
The new 75,000 sq ft space will provide passengers and visitors to the area with stunning views of the original station façade for the first time in more than 150 years. It will also provide access to the mainline station, new improved entrances to London Underground and an area dedicated to public art.
King’s Cross Square has been designed to manage up to 140,000 commuters, visitors and residents each day and a new Southern Facade canopy will provide passengers with an extra covered area beyond the original station structure.
The concourse, the first part of the station’s transformation, opened in March 2012 and transformed an unloved, historic rail terminus into a dynamic transport interchange and a destination in its own right.
Arup has played a central role in the regeneration of this historic landmark and the wider area. For Kings Cross Square, Arup designed the southern square with Stanton Williams and the southern façade canopy with John McAslan + Partners. Arup was also the lead consultant on the King’s Cross Station concourse and lead designers for King’s Cross St Pancras underground station.
“As engineers we have re-defined, re-shaped and created value in rejuvenating this part of London and, as a result, the area has witnessed radical change over the last two decades. It is a testimony to the use of 21st Century engineering technology to sympathetically restore the Grade I listed building that has culminated in the graceful new roof over the Western Concourse, and also brought back into public view the magnificent Southern Façade.
Mike Byrne, Arup Director and Project Director
For more information about King’s Cross Square or the redevelopment of the station, please visit the Network Rail website.