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St Pancras scoops property oscar
The ‘cathedral of railways' has snapped up a prestigious property prize honouring the £800 million architectural restoration and extension of a unique London landmark.
One of the great feats of Victorian engineering, the St Pancras Barlow train shed arch was designed in 1863 by Midland Railway's William Barlow. At more than 100 foot high, it was the largest enclosed space in the world on its opening in 1868.
But despite its Grade 1 listed status, St. Pancras International, dubbed the ‘cathedral of the railways', had fallen into neglect by the 1980's as the King's Cross area declined from a busy industrial district to a derelict area notorious for crime, prostitution and drugs.
As part of the restoration, the Barlow Shed has been completely reglazed and the paint work taken back to its intended pale sky blue.
The ridge and furrow glazing of the Barlow shed contains 14,080 glass panels, giving a total glassed area of nearly 10,000 square metres, which is equivalent to almost two football pitches.
The station has also been extended, with the masterplan for the extension originally created by Sir Norman Foster and then developed by RLE's chief architect Alistair Lansley.
The glass extension has been designed to house the extra long Eurostar trains in their new home.
The completion of St Pancras is just one small part of the £6 billion project High Speed 1 and just the beginning of redevelopment and regeneration of the King's Cross area.
Now, this epic restoration which has turned St. Pancras International into one of the largest passenger interchanges in Europe and the London Gateway for Eurostar, has been awarded the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) Project of the Year Award.
Regarded as the ‘Oscars' of the built and natural environment, the RICS Awards recognise excellence, value for money and a commitment to sustainability. The Project of the Year award is given to any entry that is judged to have excelled in any, or all of the main categories.
St Pancras is not only a gateway to the rest of the country and to Europe, it is also now a destination in its own right, offering high class shopping, restaurants and bars.
The station is now home to fifteen platforms and in the future it will accommodate high speed links with Kent and the Olympic site in 2012. As part of the redevelopment, the owners, London and Continental Railways, wanted to restore the glamour of rail travel.
Simon Pott, chairman of judges, said: "This project is a remarkable example of a carefully designed and completed building project that is delivering powerful regeneration in the surrounding area.
"St. Pancras International delivers not only excellent functionality, but a stylish and beautiful destination that loses none of its original charm. It is a truly exceptional project,” added Mr Pott.
Past winners of the property ‘Oscar' have included the Eden Project in Cornwall and the site of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
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