Waterloo International Terminal, London
UNITED KINGDOMLondon
Architect:
Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, London
Structural Engineer:
Roof: YRM Anthony Hunt Associates, London
To create a terminal building worthy of the label "Gateway to Europe" and capable of evoking the spirit of a new age for European railways was the challenge facing the designers of Waterloo International, the Channel Tunnel terminus. With Paris just three hours away, the Continent has never been so near. The focus of technical skill and architectural spectacle is the steel roof, snaking 400m along a restricted site in the heart of London.
The complex geometry of the roof derives from the spans reducing from 50m to 35m along a sinuous curve. Essentially, it is a flattened 3-pin bow string arch with the centre pin to one side; the tension chord is on the inside of the major truss; and then on the outside of the minor truss, flipping over at the point of contraflexure. A fully glazed facade allows city skyline and new age trains to become part of the whole architectural and travel experience.