The new Euston tube vent will be the first major structure to be built as part of the transformation of the station ahead of the arrival of high speed services in 2026.
HS2 Ltd said that the design ‘draws inspirational from historic London Underground stations, such as nearby Great Portland Street’. Clad with more than 13,000 glazed ivory white tiles, the structure is designed to help reflect light into the surrounding streets.
The glazed terracotta tiles – known as faience tiles – were also used extensively on the façade of the old vent shaft building, as well as many historic London Underground stations, such as South Kensington, Great Portland Street and Covent Garden. It is robust, durable and low maintenance, making it ideal for functional buildings, HS2 said.
Perforated tiles will allow air into the building and variate the façade.
Designed by architect Weston Williamson + Partners, with William Matthews Associates, the four-storey-high cube will contain a substation for London Underground and UK Power Networks as well as a vent shaft for the Northern line.
The building will replace an existing vent shaft which will be removed once the new vent shaft is up and running. This is to make way for six new platforms and a new concourse at Euston due to open in 2026.
HS2’s London programme director Rob Carr said: “HS2 will transform Euston, more than doubling the number of seats out of the station during peak hours and improving journeys for millions of people every year as well as unlocking opportunities for new homes, shops and employment around the wider area.
“The new vent shaft will be one of the first things we build and it’s important we get it right. I hope this intriguing, functional and contemporary design will be welcomed by all those who live, work and travel through Euston”
Weston Williamson + Partners managing partner Philip Breese said: “The new Euston vent shaft will be an important building in the reconfiguration of the public spaces around the HS2 station. The imaginative cladding design has been developed to respond to the technical requirements of the structure and its position in an existing and part emerging townscape. The use of faience tiles aims to bring a human scale, reflect light and allow the shaft to breathe.”
The new vent shaft will be on Stephenson Way, a small street behind the Euston Road, on the site of Wolfson House, a former University College London building that is currently being demolished. Tunnels will link it to the Northern line below.
The plans have been submitted to the London Borough of Camden for approval under Schedule 17 of the HS2 Act. The vent shaft will be built by HS2, before being handed over to London Underground.
The release of the new images comes a week after the first HS2 tower cranes arrived on the Euston skyline. They will assist with the deconstruction of One Euston Square and Grant Thornton House, the two 1970s towers at the front of the station, and buildings to the west of the station.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
