Bank Station
In close proximity to the Bank of England, Monument, and St Pauls Cathedral the aptly named LUL Bank Station has recently completed its seven-year major transformation and opened its gates to commuters and visitors traveling into London’s Square Mile.
TfL launched the £700m Bank Station capacity upgrade project during 2016 and in February 2023 the final phase of the scheme was completed with the opening of a new ticket hall located on Cannon Street.
Hugely complex and challenging in design and construction, the upgrade provides 40% increased passenger capacity, step-free access, new concourses, platforms, escalators, and travelators. The expansive free-flowing passenger tunnels lend themselves to intuitive wayfinding and effortless commuting. These significant improvements have been implemented to serve the 50 million people who use the station yearly.
SAS International was invited to collaborate with WilkinsonEyre Architects to support the specification of the wall linings, cladding, and feature ceilings. The design also required architectural service booms to house essential services safely and aesthetically. Relying on the long-standing relationship between WilkinsonEyre and SAS both design teams worked closely together to realise the considered architectural vision of the project.
“WilkinsonEyre developed the design of the belowground Tunnel Service Booms for Bank Station Capacity Upgrade with input from SAS. This included validation of the geometry to ensure that the design could be delivered as well as developing the details. The final product delivered by SAS fully matched the design intent, highlighting their ability to work through initial concepts all the way to fabrication and installation.” – Harsh Lad, Associate Director, Wilkinson Eyre Architects
Working for principal contractor Dragados, SAS’s specialist contracting division undertook several key packages that included 535lm of bespoke service booms and 5000m² of striking vitreous enamel and PPC steel acoustic wall linings. In tandem, the scope involved the elegant scalloped acoustic ceiling in the new ticket hall, signature bronze artwork, and glazed and stainless-steel fit-out works. In total SAS supplied and installed circa 7000m² of finishes at the station.
SAS’s UK-based manufacturing arm and third-party suppliers supported the project ensuring the principles of quality, sustainability, and DfMA were embedded into the product engineering and fabrication process. Modular off-site manufacture complemented the main contractor’s ambition to deliver the project in a health & safety-conscious manner, factor installation into an operational environment, meet the demanding programme and maximise on-site coordination and productivity.
At the heart of TfL’s tube network service is the passenger journey and experience. The upgrade has served to ease congestion at one of London’s busiest stations, has alleviated travel times between connections, and provided a sense of place, space, and well-being. The meaningful design, innovative engineering, and disciplined construction have ultimately bought a station that has its origins in the early 1900s into the modern era, providing London with a best-in-class transport hub that will serve its users well into the next century.
Sector:
Transport
Client:
TfL
Architect:
WilkinsonEyre
Main contractor:
Dragados
System type:
Acoustic wall panels, bespoke ceilings & architectural metalwork
Region:
United Kingdom
