New Waterloo - Elizabeth House

New
Waterloo
Transforming the
Elizabeth House site
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Transforming Elizabeth House
New Waterloo
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Transforming Elizabeth House
Transforming
Elizabeth
House
This booklet has been produced by Chelsfield and London & Regional
Properties to explain our regeneration plans for the Elizabeth House
site in Waterloo. Following extensive public consultation in 2010 and
2011, it sets out the final designs that have now been submitted to
Lambeth Council as a planning application. The proposals would:
– represent a £600m investment into Waterloo – to create a new
business district for London and attract major occupiers back to
the area
– create a dramatic new public space in front of Waterloo station –
with a new Victory Arch Square as part of 10,000 square metres
of public space running the length of York Road
New Waterloo
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Transforming Elizabeth House
New Waterloo
– significantly improve access to Waterloo station – London’s busiest
mainline station – by replacing of high-level walkway with a new
step-free access
– deliver a modern architectural solution – designed by multi-awardwinning David Chipperfield Architects, and replacing the unsightly
and outdated 1960s offices
– bring a major economic boost – with around 8,500 jobs on the site,
as well as 142 new homes generating an additional £11.8m spent
in the local economy each year
Lambeth Council are considering our plans. We anticipate
that, following the granting of planning permission, work will begin
in 2013 and will be completed in 2016.
Left
Current view along West Road
Between the current Elizabeth House and the former International terminal
Right
Proposed view along West Road
New public space and new access to the station
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Transforming Elizabeth House
New Waterloo
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About the site
New Waterloo
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About the site
About
the site
The Elizabeth House site sits between Waterloo station and Europe’s
largest cultural quarter at the South Bank, which includes the Royal
Festival Hall, the Hayward Gallery, the British Film Institute and the
National Theatre.
The existing Elizabeth House is an outdated, run-of-the-mill
1960s office development, originally built as offices for British Rail.
It runs alongside the west side of Waterloo station along York Road
as far as Leake Street, parallel and adjacent to the now-empty
former International terminal.
The current buildings include a 16-storey tower which butts
hard against the Victory Arch entrance to Waterloo station, effectively
blocking off the possibility of improving access to the station itself,
and between the station and the South Bank.
New Waterloo
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About the site
New Waterloo
Waterloo is London’s busiest mainline station, used by 88
million people a year, and struggles with volumes it wasn’t designed
for. The Victory Arch entrance cannot cope with the numbers using
it and does not have adequate provision for the disabled.
The space in front of Victory Arch – which is the main route
to the South Bank (22 million visitors a year), the London Eye (3.5
million visitors a year) and St Thomas’ Hospital (5 million visitors a
year) – is almost unmanageable. It is difficult to navigate, creates
conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, buses and taxis, and is
an eyesore.
Planning history
The site has had a long record of failed attempts at redevelopment,
with the most recent application by a previous developer turned
down after a planning inquiry in 2009, having been supported by
Lambeth Council and the Greater London Authority.
Known as ‘the three sisters’, these plans were for three
tall buildings of 31, 28 and 21 storeys, which – compared to our
plans – had a much more significant visual impact, as well as less
public space.
This therefore set an important context for the current
designs to respond to, with the new plans including on only a single
tall building of exceptional architectural quality and a more generous
provision of open space and other benefits.
Left
Current view along York Road
Current Elizabeth House on the right
Current view of Victory Arch
Butting against current Elizabeth House
Top Right
Previous proposal
Main Right
Map of area showing site location
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About the site
New Waterloo
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A desire for change
New Waterloo
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A desire for change
A desire
for change
Waterloo sits within a designated strategic location at the centre
of London, on a principal bend of the River Thames, yet since the
early 1980s the area has lost around 7,000 jobs, while in neighbouring
Southwark jobs have grown by nearly 16,000.
This loss of comparative growth is down to the lack of
appropriate types of quality office accommodation, resulting in some
businesses once based in Waterloo moving eastwards. The current
Elizabeth House offices contribute to this problem. They are run-down,
unsightly and no longer meet the needs of contemporary office
occupiers.
All these points have been recognised by policy makers.
Waterloo is an identified ‘Opportunity Area’ in the Mayor of London’s
London Plan, with the Elizabeth House site specifically identified by
Lambeth Council as a ‘Major Development Opportunity’ suitable
for commercial and residential development.
New Waterloo
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A desire for change
New Waterloo
The ‘Waterloo Opportunity Area Planning Framework’ also
identifies the site as suitable for tall buildings and sets out a new
vision for Waterloo:
“To give Waterloo a new ‘Town Square’ that also serves as a public
transport interchange space; to improve permeability to and within
the area and provide new development principally in the area around
and above Waterloo Station.”
The opportunity
This is an opportunity to start transforming the Waterloo area into
one of London’s leading business districts – in particular, to:
– create exceptionally designed offices that will attract contemporary
business, and provide visually stunning buildings for Waterloo
– open up the station and its entrance with a brilliant new public
space, enabling long-term improvements to the station and future
redevelopment of the disused International terminal
– deliver a £600m investment into Lambeth that brings accommodation
for around 8,500 new workers on site, boosts spending in the area,
improves connections to surrounding communities and provides a
transformed environment around the station
– be a catalyst for other new developments in the area, linking with
the Shell site and Waterloo station, and integrating with Waterloo
City Square
Left
Proposed view from north side of the river
Right
Close-up view of the proposed North Building
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A desire for change
New Waterloo
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Proposals at a glance
New Waterloo
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Proposals at a glance
Proposals
at a glance
Total floor space: 132,100 square metres
Public space: 10,000 square metres
North Building height: 29 storeys (118 metres)
Office space: 62,000 square metres
Homes: 142
South Building height: 10 storeys (52 metres)
Office space: 23,700 square metres
Small shops and cafés: 1,500 square metres
Cycle spaces: 666
Car park spaces: 75
Construction period: 28 months
Fit-out period: 8 months
BREEAM Offices rating: Excellent
Code for Sustainable Homes: Level 4
New Waterloo
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Proposals at a glance
New Waterloo
View along York Road showing proposed buildings
North Building on the left. South Building on the right
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Proposals at a glance
New Waterloo
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Public spaces
New Waterloo
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Public spaces
Public
spaces
At the heart of the proposals is a great new public space, totalling
10,000 square metres, making what is now a cluttered and tawdry
area more open, more spacious and much greener.
In front of Waterloo station, we plan to create Victory Arch
Square: a new, seamless, step-free public area, giving the public
the space they need to move freely, and allowing Victory Arch to
stand proud with the space and exposure it deserves. Beyond
Victory Arch Square, the new public space runs the length of the
site from Mepham Street to Leake Street, connecting to York Road,
and permitting free and easy access to the South Bank. The area
between the two buildings is called Central Square.
New Waterloo
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Public spaces
New Waterloo
Gallery space
In addition, the plans propose a new ‘front room’ for Waterloo.
The ground floor of the North Building along York Road will include
a double-height glass-fronted gallery space.
Similar to the foyer of the Festival Hall, this area will be
open to the public – with sofas, good coffee, small retail kiosks
and Wi-Fi – providing a dramatic space in the heart of Waterloo that
will also host exhibitions and artwork to bring some of Waterloo’s
cultural heritage to the station.
Proposed view of the new Victory Arch Square
Image on previous page
Proposed view from Charing Cross
Doon Street building consented, but not yet built
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Public spaces
New Waterloo
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Public spaces
New Waterloo
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Public spaces
Public
spaces
New access to the station
The plans deliver significantly better access to Waterloo station.
We will replace the current high-level walkway with step-free access
into the main station concourse, accessed via the new public space.
The development also enables future additional access to Waterloo
station through the former International terminal, which has already
been identified as a major development priority for London.
The open ground level creates vastly improved movement
between Waterloo station and the South Bank, London Eye and
St Thomas’ Hospital, and facilitating improved connections with
Lower Marsh, allowing it to become more easily accessible from
the South Bank.
New Waterloo
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Public spaces
New Waterloo
Proposed view of new access to the station
Central Square between North and South Buildings
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Public spaces
New Waterloo
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Architecture
New Waterloo
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Architecture
Architecture
Our proposals fit into and add to the urban fabric of the Waterloo area.
The plans have been prepared by David Chipperfield
Architects. Sir David Chipperfield, one of the world’s leading
architects, is a former Stirling Prize winner and the recipient in 2011
of the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Elizabeth House is his first major project in London.
The proposals represent the integration of three concepts –
fitting into and adding to the townscape of the South Bank; providing
a new face for Waterloo station; and creating a series of public spaces
that reconnect previously disparate areas at the heart of Waterloo.
They take the form of two new buildings, within 10,000
square metres of a new public area running the length of the site.
New Waterloo
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Architecture
New Waterloo
The North Building is a stacked form – a series of volumes
that build up to form a tall building at the head of the site, adjacent to
Victory Arch. These volumes are clad with a translucent white glass
façade and create a simple, calm, yet finely articulated, architectural
surface. The result is an elegant building that will take its place in the
skyline of London, and reflect the prominence of its location adjacent
to the South Bank.
The South Building responds more closely to the scale
and materiality of its surroundings – low-rise, ground-bearing and
featuring colonnades, it establishes a clear relationship with the
adjacent buildings of County Hall.
Engineering and sustainability
The new public space is partly created by, in effect, lifting the whole
North Building off the ground via a 12-storey-high bridging structure
spanning 108 metres, with its supporting structures visible through
the building’s glazed façade. This solution responds to the position
of the four Underground tunnels below, which limit the location for
foundations, and creates a two-storey-high public space shaped
by its proximity to the station.
The whole project aims for very high levels of sustainability,
in both its office and residential spaces. The proposals achieve an
‘excellent’ rating in the BREEAM Offices 2008 assessment scheme,
and a level 4 status in the Code for Sustainable Homes 2010.
Left
Proposed view of the gallery space
Along York Road
Right
Proposed view of South Building
Along York Road
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Architecture
New Waterloo
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Economic boost
New Waterloo
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Economic boost
Economic
boost
The proposed Elizabeth House development will be the largest
mixed-use investment in Waterloo for 40 years. It will directly deliver:
– around 8,500 jobs on the site – currently there are only 2,400
people employed on the site
– the equivalent of 460 full-time construction jobs
– a package of employment and training support measures to be
delivered with Lambeth and other stakeholders – to ensure local
businesses and workers benefit from the new opportunities
– an additional £11.8m spent in the area each year by office workers
and new residents – boosting the local economy and supporting
650 new jobs within the local community
New Waterloo
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Economic boost
New Waterloo
– through the lifetime of the buildings, further measures to encourage
local procurement, and benefits to local businesses and workers
– 1,500 square metres of new shops and cafés to serve office
workers – far less than the current amount, to avoid undermining
the Lower Marsh commercial area
– 142 new homes – a range of one to four-bedroom apartments,
bringing new residents to the area in a highly sustainable location
New business district
Waterloo is perfectly placed to benefit from the creative clusters
in the South Bank and the West End. With this new development,
Waterloo can become the home for major contemporary businesses,
such as advertising, media, professional services and technology
firms, together with their huge supply networks.
The development will also help signal a change in perceptions
of Waterloo, support further investment into the area and significantly
improve the redevelopment potential of the surrounding area –
including Waterloo station, the disused International terminal, the Shell
Centre and the IMAX Theatre roundabout (City Square).
As such, it is key to achieving the aims of the Waterloo
Development Framework, which seeks to make Waterloo an important
business district and an attractive place to live, while also reinforcing
its character as a cultural quarter of international significance.
Proposed view of gallery space in the evening
Along York Road
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Economic boost
New Waterloo
A better Waterloo
for everyone
This booklet sets out proposals to transform the Elizabeth House
site, between Waterloo station and the South Bank.
This development brings a £600m investment into Waterloo,
creating a new business district for London.
The plans create a dramatic new public space in front of
the station and along York Road, and significantly improve access
to the station.
These proposals are a modern architectural solution,
designed by multi-award-winning David Chipperfield Architects.
And they bring a major economic boost to Lambeth,
with around 8,500 jobs, 142 new homes and an additional annual
spend in the area of £11.8m.
For more information contact us at [email protected],
or visit our website www.elizabethhousewaterloo.co.uk.
Cover image
Proposed view of the new Victory Arch Square