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BUILDING PROJECTS
‘From outside, the vaulted, semi-circular concourse looks like a giant flying saucer emerging from the west side of the station’
© Hufton + Crow
length of the Grade I listed Western Range, creating a new entrance to the station through its south end, and at mezza- nine level to the northern end into the Main Train Shed. Passengers reach platforms through the ground-level gate
lines at the southern end of the Western Range building, or via the mezzanine level gate line, which leads to the new cross- platform footbridge. The concourse enhances links to Tube, train and bus con-
nections, and to High Speed services next-door at St Pancras Station, whose own modernisation was completed in 2007. Kings Cross/St Pancras Underground station was rebuilt
between 2006 and 2009. Once the structural work on the Northern Ticket Hall roof slab was finished in 2008, con- struction could start overhead on Network Rail’s Western Concourse. Its supports could only be positioned around the perimeter and in front of the booking hall, because the Underground ticket hall was so near the surface. The site developed in the 19th century rather as one station
for mainline services and another for suburban. Goods han- dling competed with the disjointed passenger flow until an underground tunnel was created in the 1930s for the parcels service. This is now used for onboard servicing. A new Shared Service Yard has been constructed, a subsurface facility where all deliveries and services – for the station and new office buildings nearby – are handled well away from passengers.
© John McAslan + Partners Our guide to the reinvigorated station is David Jackson, one
of JMP’s senior architects dealing with heritage issues. “It’s a large site, but very constrained, restricted by York Way
on one side and St Pancras Way on the other side,” he says. “With railway lines running under the canal, our site didn’t have the freedom to expand northwards, which St Pancras sta- tion did. A new concourse on the site of the current 1970s concourse would not have succeeded in linking to the Suburban platforms.” The station footprint was dictated partly by the curve of the
Great Northern Hotel, which has direct access to the con- course ground floor. World War II air raids damaged the station. Through lou-
vred glass bays in the Western Concourse can be seen the deliberate contrast in brick colours that highlights where a
Continued overleaf...
From top: The Western Concourse canopy dominates the view from St Pancras; section drawing of the Western Concourse
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