Uxbridge station, London

1938, Charles Holden (photo 1958)

My former home. Everything here is broadly the same as it was back then. 

Barbican, London

The original architect’s design for the Silk Street entrance. 

Brunel University, London

Many an (un)happy hour I spent in this library.

Brunel University, London

My old university. 

St Saviour’s Church, Warwick Avenue, London

Passed this church this morning, it looks great but it’s difficult to find much information about it. The spire isn’t the most interesting thing about it but it’ll do for now.

Chiswick Flyover, London

I want to Tumble this as I’m going over the roundabout itself. Bought to you by the magic of Megabus wifi.

Terminal 1, Heathrow Airport, London

Oceanic Terminal, Heathrow Airport, 1968

King’s Cross station, London

A corner of the new concourse from Tom Page’s photos of the opening day.

King’s Cross station, London

When you don’t live in London a lot changes from one visit to the next. The Shard seems to get larger and more offensive every time I see it leading me to wonder if it will ever stop growing, the City seems to close itself up more and more with barriers and checkpoints and Make (and their ilk) seem to get their hands on more empty plots to ruin with their post-modern clunkiness. In a, fortunately, more tasteful vein there’s the new concourse at King’s Cross which opened today. It is something that’s been desperately needed as anyone who’s travelled through the current dark, squat entrance will tell you. The last time I saw the new concourse it was but a shell, the roof being assembled rod by rod but now it’s finished and open for business and the Daily Mail is already calling it “the string vest”.

It looks promising. I haven’t visited it so I can’t really say too much but it’s basically a big half-dome under which is a plethora of shops and some big departure boards. There’s not much to dislike. Last time I travelled through the station I was more impressed by the restoration work going on inside, you can see (here) how much cleaner the roof is. It’s a total change from the diesel fume stained perspex that was there before.

The problem with architecture in railway stations is that its usefulness has to come before its aesthetics and the marriage of the two is rare. Saying that with King’s Cross is now a passable place that holds some modern architectural merit to its name. It leaves only Fenchurch Street, Euston, London Bridge and Cannon Street as London termini without recent rennovations. All of them have plans on the cards with either Thameslink 2000, HS2 or Crossrail.

Review of the new Concourse at; The Guardian, The Evening Standard, New Civil Engineer

Photo by Tom Page