LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM 2011-
The Elizabeth House project is situated next to London Waterloo station, surrounded by the currently dysfunctional environment of the former international terminal. At the center of the project are a series of public spaces that reconnect previously disparate areas at the heart of Waterloo. Beginning with the redesign of Victory Arch Square, the obstructed entrance to the station has been reinstated, generating a new seamless, step-free public space. This is defined by a continuous ground surface conceived as a hard landscape that runs from Mepham Street to Leake Street, connecting to York Road, and permitting free and easy access to the South Bank. In between the new buildings is a second public space with links to an alternative route into the station and possible future connections to Lower Marsh. Along the length of York Road, the north building includes a double-height glass-fronted gallery, integrating the development into a new southern threshold for the South Bank.
In addition to crafting a strong 'place' at ground level, the project also finds its identity in the London skyline. Formed of two distinct buildings, the larger north building comprises a 12-story office block raised two stories above ground level and a residential tower a further 16 stories tall. It is defined by its significant diagonal steel bridging structure, required as a result of the considerable constraints below ground. Its external envelope develops the idea of a non-load-bearing glazed curtain wall divided into rectilinear blocks. These volumes are shaded by vertical fins, disrupting the articulation of floors so that the monolithic quality of each block is emphasized. This theme carries through to the upper residential levels providing glazed winter gardens on all sides. The form of the building is thus represented as a stack of horizontal elements aligned towards the head of the site, next to Victory Arch.
By contrast, the south building is more conventional in character and structure. Only 10 stories tall, it is closely aligned with the material and scale of the adjacent buildings. The load-bearing pre-cast concrete façade references the materiality of the surrounding Portland stone-clad County Hall and Shell Centre tower, giving it a more solid appearance. This contrasts the translucency of the north building, reflecting their respective structural approaches (steel frame over the London Underground tunnels, and concrete frame over the solid ground) while increasing permeability at street level.