Brief comparable in scale to recent projects at Kings Cross and London Bridge stations
5th Studio has been appointed to lead an urban design framework to improve the area around Stratford station.
The scale of transformation needed is said to be similar to what has been seen at King’s Cross and London Bridge.
The architecture and spatial planning practice will lead a multidisciplinary design and planning team consisting of Expedition Engineering, Momentum Transport, Turner & Townsend and Giorgia Sharpe with Thomas Matthews to develop a vision and urban design framework.
The £300,000 contract was awarded by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) through a competitive tender via the GLA’s ADUP II framework. The LLDC is working in partnership with Network Rail, Newham council and Transport for London
The work – to produce a planning and development framework to revitalise the area – is focused on Stratford Station, the seventh busiest in the UK; both how it can be improved as an interchange and how it links to the nearby International Station.
A key part of the study will be to assess how better connectivity could be formed between Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Stratford town centre.
The team will also identify ways to make the station more accessible and passenger-friendly.
The lines are used by an estimated 128 million passengers a year, with demand predicted to continue to increase in the future, despite covid.
Tom Holbrook, director of 5th Studio, said: “Stratford has been shaped by the railway, but the railway has set up some challenging obstacles to movement and connectivity that have baked in inequality. We are delighted to win this important commission, which builds on previous work over the last decade to ‘improve connectivity on and around the Olympic park and legacy boroughs.
“The project presents an opportunity to ensure strong, well-designed connections between Stratford town centre and the growing social, cultural and economic assets of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and its neighbouring communities across east London.
“In doing so we hope to unlock a much better interchange around Stratford Regional Station and bring the International station more into play.”
This work will inform the strategic business case for the long-term redevelopment of Stratford Regional Station that is being progressed by LLDC, Network Rail, LB Newham and TfL.
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Rosanna Lawes, executive director of development at LLDC, said: “The scale of regeneration on and around the park has meant that passenger use at Stratford Station has trebled over the past 10 years.
“This essential work will not only help us make a case to government which secures Stratford as an appealing place to work, live and visit, but it will also help us identify ways in which we can improve local connectivity and job opportunities for nearby residents.”
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