Grimshaw's March 2024 masterplan for redeveloping London's Waterloo StationA team led by 5th Studio has won a commission to upgrade wayfinding and public realm around Waterloo station in central London 5th Studio working with consultation and co-design specialists, New Practice plus Alan Tyler Consulting and Bloqs Create has been selected as overall winner of the contract by Lambeth Council following an open tender that received 22 submissions.The winning multi-disciplinary team will now create a innovative and highly creative wayfinding strategy outlining featuring a series of design intervention proposals supported by an overarching design framework and a design toolkit.The commission is the first to emerge following the announcement of Grimshaws competition-winning masterplan for redeveloping Londons Waterloo Station and its surroundings one year ago. Key aims include building on the cultural significance of the Waterloo and South Bank area through innovative engagement and co-design.AdvertisementDanny Adilypour Lambeth Councils deputy leader and cabinet member for Housing, Investment and New Homes said: I am delighted we were able to commission 5th Studio to take on this important work that will lead to more people than ever before being able to enjoy their neighbourhoods around Waterloo and the South Bank.It builds on the ambitious Waterloo station masterplan and will help us realise our vision of creating neighbourhoods fit for the future.The latest project will develop a Strategy and Delivery Plan, identifying innovative, deliverable and intuitive wayfinding with the aim of improving the experience of thousands of residents, visitors and workers moving through Waterloo station and the South Bank area every day.With a particular focus on onward connections and journeys to and from Waterloo station, the strategy will identify the potential and opportunity to enhance key existing routes, improving connectivity and permeability across the area, drawing on and celebrating the areas cultural significance, character and identity.Waterloo serves suburban south-west London and south-west England, and combines 24 train platforms, four underground lines and several bus routes, making it one of the largest stations in the UK and Europe.AdvertisementIt includes the Grimshaw-designed former Waterloo International Terminal, which opened in 1993 and was named the RIBA Presidents Building of the Year and won the Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture.The main station buildings were constructed from 1907 to 1922 and designed by London and South Western Railway chief architects JW Jacomb-Hood and AW Szlumper. The complex includes an elaborate street and concourse frontage designed by James Robb Scott.A bid to list parts of the interchange, including Waterloo International, was turned down by former heritage minister John Penrose in 2010 but the Scott-designed Victory Arch entrance featuring sculpture by Charles Whiffen was Grade II-listed in 2002. Robinson Kenning and Gallagher Architects created a new first-floor balcony serving retail spaces in the station a decade ago.In March 2024, Grimshaw revealed a series of long-term aspirations for the station as part of a new masterplan including a redesigned northern concourse, a new southern concourse and more than 40 new walking and cycling routes connecting the station to other parts of the capital.The plans, drawn up for clients Network Rail and Lambeth Council, also include new public spaces, workspace and an enhanced bus and taxi interchange.Grimshaw, which famously worked on the Waterloo International Terminal (1993), landed the contract in September 2022 and has since been working on the plan with Gbolade Design Studio, WSP, Exterior Architecture, Hatch, Savills, Turner & Townsend and Iceni.Key aims of the latest commission include boosting connectivity and permeability between the station and key surrounding landmarks, creating new green public realm in the area, and unlocking inclusive growth opportunities for the surrounding area.The latest appointment comes half a year after Arup, Grimshaw and 5th Studio were picked to work on the next stage of redeveloping east Londons Stratford Station and surrounding areas.2025-02-06Merlin Fulchercomment and share