Modernising a historic London station to spark regeneration

Unlocking a uniquely complex site

Seeing the thriving district that King’s Cross has become, it can be hard to appreciate just how difficult this was to achieve. We were faced with a uniquely complex site hemmed in by infrastructure above and underground – everything from rail lines to old Victorian gas tunnels. Many of these constraints only came to light once projects were underway.

We brought together different expertise and perspectives to respond to the multiple challenges that the development unearthed. At King’s Cross Central, our experience in planning, heritage issues, restoration, and archaeological engineering helped to breathe new life into many of the area’s 20 protected historic buildings. Throughout this long-running project, we focused on creating a successful place for people by transforming underused former industrial land into 1,900 new homes, offices, retail spaces, and a new university campus for the local community.

As one of Europe’s largest downtown brownfield redevelopment projects, this historic landmark – and the wider area – has made a place for people to prosper while safeguarding its rich industrial heritage. In recognition of its significant impact, King’s Cross Station won the Royal Academy of Engineering Major Project Award in 2014. The masterplan was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2024.

We have also played a key role in other well-known local initiatives, contributing to the development of this area for decades. We were instrumental in the redevelopment focused on historic preservation at St Pancras and the construction of High Speed 1, projects that unlocked redevelopment at King’s Cross. We worked with the developer Related Argent for twenty years to create a new quarter that includes the popular Coal Drops Yard district and collaborated with world-leading academic, cultural, research, scientific, and technology institutions across the Knowledge Quarter, such as the Francis Crick Institute and the British Library.

Engineering that celebrates the old alongside the new

In the years since its completion, the station’s elegant new concourse—which appears almost to float next to the original building—has become a landmark in its own right.

We had to design the concourse to fit between the adjacent Grade I and II protected historic buildings without placing any load on them. It also had to sit on foundations that were pre-installed as part of the underground station expansion, which we also designed. Our solution was an intricate diagrid shell structure roof that spans to and is supported by perimeter tree columns and a central funnel structure. This design makes it structurally independent of the sensitive Western Range building. Integrating the roof’s envelope and structure created a form that is natural yet modular, which streamlined fabrication and construction.

Our lighting design for the concourse complements the flowing roof. Highly efficient and color-stable projectors uplight the roof's diagrid structure, creating a bright and airy atmosphere that connects passengers to the time of day and the life of the city outside.

Managing complexity to minimize risk

As one of the busiest areas of London, King’s Cross required a careful approach that considered all the different elements. The highly congested site included new construction above existing underground tunnels and alongside main thoroughfares and two mainline stations. Arup prepared stage-by-stage construction sequences to reduce the risk of damage to the world’s oldest underground railway system and other heritage structures.

Redeveloping the underground station on such a constrained site was particularly challenging. The project had to provide accessible routes to the platforms from the new refurbished ticket halls with new pedestrian underpasses, escalator barrels, and elevator shafts. To minimize both risks to the workforce and disruption to passengers, we used advanced analytical and design approaches—including forming tunnels with a sprayed concrete outer lining and an internal spheroidal graphite iron lining. These features were essential to ensure the structure could withstand the loads and prevent potential failures.

The design team opened up a previously unused lower level as the main pedestrian route through the station, creating space to handle passengers from St Pancras International, as well as new retail offerings that have become a meeting point and leisure destination for passengers and non-passengers alike.

From the deepest underground tunnel to the tip of the new canopy, our specialists worked together to bring the entire program to a successful completion. All major milestones were achieved on time, and the station opened to the public on schedule in 2012—in time to welcome passengers making their way to the Olympic stadium in Stratford.