teuchter
je suis teuchter
Went along to have a look at the newly reopened St Pancras today.
I've been keeping an eye on it over the last few years, peering in from the Midland Mainline bit, reading about it and more recently been watching the documentary on the telly about its construction. So I had some idea of what to expect.
I have to say that I would most likely have been a lot more impressed if I didn't know what to expect; if the last I'd known of it was as the dark, smoky, rusting place it was before renovation. Nonetheless, some mixed feelings when I actually got there.
On the one hand, there are a lot of things about it which are really spectacular. Most obviously, the roof structure with its reinstated glazing and repainted steelwork... very beautiful, and today the sun was coming through it and shining onto the brickwork along the east wall of the trainshed. Easily one of the most impressive structures, and spaces, in London, I would say.
And generally, the quality of the purely architectural elements, whether new or refurbished old, in the "old" part of the station seems very good; nothing looks like it's been skimped on unreasonably or boshed together.
The entirely new elements in the "old" part have been inserted unfussily and I think perfectly successfully, in architectural terms.
The extension to the trainshed (at the north end of the platforms: it lengthens the Eurostar platforms to enable them to accommodate the full length of a Eurostar set as well as housing several shorter platforms for domestic services) isn't in my opinion a particularly stunning piece of architecture. Rather bland and also a bit clunkily detailed, especially the roof which has obviously been designed to let light through (it is made up from a series of angled fins) yet doesn't really succeed in doing this and ends up looking heavy and dark. However, it doesn't bother me as much as it did when I first saw it (before the main station was reopened) because it doesn't really impact on your experience of the main trainshed, mainly because its roof has been kept low enough not to be visible through the big arch at the north end.
My main quibbles are to do with Eurostar's claims that it is the "greatest railway station in Europe". The railway station seems almost incidental to it, in a way. It might more accurately be described as Europe's grandest shopping centre, with trains attached.
It just doesn't really feel like a train station. Yes, you can see the Eurostars, but they are behind glass security barriers and are to be observed more like animals in a zoo. Almost all of the "train station" stuff - ticket halls, waiting rooms, and suchlike, is buried away in the undercroft. The truly great stations of the world are filled with the activity of travel - people waiting, meeting, queuing, running, snoozing ... destination boards, luggage trolleys and all the rest of it. This feels like it's missing from St Pancras.
I know that's partly to do with the way Eurostar works and the security concerns that access has to be more controlled than in most stations. But comparing St Pancras to Gare du Nord... well, the latter just feels much more like a real train station.
It's telling that the domestic trains have been relegated to the far end of the station, and banished from the Barlow shed altogether in favour of a double-height void (where the platforms could have been) given over to retail space. Well, perhaps that's just how the economics add up, and perhaps it wouldn't have been viable to renovate the building to such a standard without doing this. But it's a bit sad nonetheless.
The building is currently marred by various bits of tacky Christmas marketing tat ... including a giant and fairly ugly "advent calender" (sponsored by Boots?) right across the arch at the South end. At least they have been kind enough to cut a hole in it for the rather lovely giant clock.
Oh yes, the "world's longest champagne bar": well, it's OK but nothing special. Just a long line of people drinking champagne. I thought it was going to be something a bit special, but it's not really.
And then there is that statue. I wont say any more as there are enough derisory comments here and here already.
So all in all then, a spectacular and beautiful building (although it is mainly the Victorians we have to thank for this), and definitely one of London's best and grandest spaces. And it's really good to see this kind of investment being put into rail infrastructure for once, even though one gets the feeling that the investment hasn't been put in entirely for the benefit of the railway bit of it. For my money, it's not London's best railway station though - that honour remains with Paddington.
By the way, it might be open, but it's by no means complete. Still an awful lot of hoarding around the place.
I'd be interested to hear what others make of it.....
I've been keeping an eye on it over the last few years, peering in from the Midland Mainline bit, reading about it and more recently been watching the documentary on the telly about its construction. So I had some idea of what to expect.
I have to say that I would most likely have been a lot more impressed if I didn't know what to expect; if the last I'd known of it was as the dark, smoky, rusting place it was before renovation. Nonetheless, some mixed feelings when I actually got there.
On the one hand, there are a lot of things about it which are really spectacular. Most obviously, the roof structure with its reinstated glazing and repainted steelwork... very beautiful, and today the sun was coming through it and shining onto the brickwork along the east wall of the trainshed. Easily one of the most impressive structures, and spaces, in London, I would say.
And generally, the quality of the purely architectural elements, whether new or refurbished old, in the "old" part of the station seems very good; nothing looks like it's been skimped on unreasonably or boshed together.
The entirely new elements in the "old" part have been inserted unfussily and I think perfectly successfully, in architectural terms.
The extension to the trainshed (at the north end of the platforms: it lengthens the Eurostar platforms to enable them to accommodate the full length of a Eurostar set as well as housing several shorter platforms for domestic services) isn't in my opinion a particularly stunning piece of architecture. Rather bland and also a bit clunkily detailed, especially the roof which has obviously been designed to let light through (it is made up from a series of angled fins) yet doesn't really succeed in doing this and ends up looking heavy and dark. However, it doesn't bother me as much as it did when I first saw it (before the main station was reopened) because it doesn't really impact on your experience of the main trainshed, mainly because its roof has been kept low enough not to be visible through the big arch at the north end.
My main quibbles are to do with Eurostar's claims that it is the "greatest railway station in Europe". The railway station seems almost incidental to it, in a way. It might more accurately be described as Europe's grandest shopping centre, with trains attached.
It just doesn't really feel like a train station. Yes, you can see the Eurostars, but they are behind glass security barriers and are to be observed more like animals in a zoo. Almost all of the "train station" stuff - ticket halls, waiting rooms, and suchlike, is buried away in the undercroft. The truly great stations of the world are filled with the activity of travel - people waiting, meeting, queuing, running, snoozing ... destination boards, luggage trolleys and all the rest of it. This feels like it's missing from St Pancras.
I know that's partly to do with the way Eurostar works and the security concerns that access has to be more controlled than in most stations. But comparing St Pancras to Gare du Nord... well, the latter just feels much more like a real train station.
It's telling that the domestic trains have been relegated to the far end of the station, and banished from the Barlow shed altogether in favour of a double-height void (where the platforms could have been) given over to retail space. Well, perhaps that's just how the economics add up, and perhaps it wouldn't have been viable to renovate the building to such a standard without doing this. But it's a bit sad nonetheless.
The building is currently marred by various bits of tacky Christmas marketing tat ... including a giant and fairly ugly "advent calender" (sponsored by Boots?) right across the arch at the South end. At least they have been kind enough to cut a hole in it for the rather lovely giant clock.
Oh yes, the "world's longest champagne bar": well, it's OK but nothing special. Just a long line of people drinking champagne. I thought it was going to be something a bit special, but it's not really.
And then there is that statue. I wont say any more as there are enough derisory comments here and here already.
So all in all then, a spectacular and beautiful building (although it is mainly the Victorians we have to thank for this), and definitely one of London's best and grandest spaces. And it's really good to see this kind of investment being put into rail infrastructure for once, even though one gets the feeling that the investment hasn't been put in entirely for the benefit of the railway bit of it. For my money, it's not London's best railway station though - that honour remains with Paddington.
By the way, it might be open, but it's by no means complete. Still an awful lot of hoarding around the place.
I'd be interested to hear what others make of it.....
