Virtual Building Tour – London Bridge Station
Fiona Mckay
London Bridge Station - Ralph Hodgson
On the 18 Jun 2020, the AIA UK Chapter held its first in a series of virtual building tours to replace live building tours currently curtailed as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic. Grimshaw Architects’ Stuart Grahn, Associate Principal, and Mark Middleton, Partner, led an informative and inspirational virtual tour of the London Bridge Station upgrade, completed in 2018.
The main line station is the oldest railway station in London Fare Zone 1 and one of the oldest in the world having opened in 1836. According to Stuart Grahn, “operationally the project creates a unified site that includes extended platforms, integrated new street entrances, three new through tracks, fewer terminating platforms and convenient links to onward travel.”
He also noted that the “dynamic canopy ribbons ripple to allow natural light into the concourse below. These ‘eyebrows’ denote the centre of the concourse below, creating a clear identity for the station. From above, the station reveals that it is as long as the adjacent Shard – one of the tallest buildings in Europe - is tall. Together they form a complementary urban sculpture and a symbol of the revival of that part of south London.”
The redevelopment of the station began with a consented master plan by TP Bennett and Alan Baxter Associates in 2000. Grimshaw Architects was appointed in 2010 to design a world class station suitable to its location and status. Construction began in 2012 and the station was opened in 2018 - the entire transformation undertaken with minimal disruption to usual station operations.
London Bridge Station (C) Paul Raftery
Instead of limiting the experience of viewers unable to physically visit the building, the virtual tour offered a variety of digital media formats - including videos, drawings, diagrams as well as still photography – that generally enhanced it. The format not only afforded the presenters the ability to eloquently highlight graphically major planning concepts of the buildings, it also allowed them to explore in depth the design development of technical elements of the project, such as the skylights; structural supports for the rail tracks and platforms; and heritage continuity.
Time lapse photography then allowed participants to experience in a few minutes a construction sequence that lasted 6 years. The virtual tour also enabled a much wider audience both by distance and by numbers. A live building tour traditionally generates about 25 participants; the virtual tour had upwards of 40.
The London Bridge Station not only stands in the forefront of design, but also redefines the modern definition of a train station. The project has been well received by the public and professionals alike and was shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2019.
The AIA UK Chapter will continue to host virtual buildings tours throughout the year to offer architects the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interest in London, around the country as well as beyond the shores of the UK.
Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA
