Waverley Steps Edinburgh, Railway Station

Waverley Steps Edinburgh, Designs, Pictures, Building, Architect, Project, Info

Waverley Steps, Edinburgh : Architecture

Railway Station : New Steps – design by Jefferson Sheard, Scotland

14 Jan 2011

Waverley Steps Edinburgh

Major improvements to Waverley Station’s Princes Street entrance will begin next month following Network Rail’s appointment of Morgan Sindall to deliver the project.

Station Redevelopment
image from architects

The £7m contract will see Morgan Sindall rebuild Waverley Steps, including the installation of three banks of double escalators and a feature entrance to the station on Princes Street, all of which will be enclosed by steel and glass canopy. They will also build a level walkway and two new lifts allowing step free access between Princes Street and Waverley Station.

The work will begin once the steps are closed to the public in early February, with the construction on the Steps expected to take approximately one year. The two 16-passenger lifts will be installed once the steps and escalator work is complete, with the contract due to be completed by July 2012.

A temporary access bridge spanning platforms 19 and 2 will be used during the closure of the Steps to maintain access between the station and Princes Mall. This will maintain access to Princes Street for passengers as well as the route via the north ramp from Waverley Bridge.

Previously:

Waverley Steps Planning Permission

Waverley Steps proposal in front of Balmoral Hotel receives planning permission 2 Nov 2005 by 8 to 2. Balmoral Hotel owner Rocco Forte had visited Edinburgh earlier in the week to campaign against the proposal by Jefferson Sheard Architects. New Town councillor David Guest also complained about it being agreed prior to development at Waverley Station.

Waverley Steps Entrance Designs Revealed

Jefferson Sheard Architecture Escalators, Steps, Balmoral
images from architects

Jefferson Sheard has unveiled dramatic new designs for the famous ‘Waverley Steps’ entrance to Edinburgh’s main rail station.
An exhibition of the designs was opened at the station last Thursday by the Scottish Transport Minister, Nicol Stephen who said that ‘this is the first step towards a bigger, better rail network for all of Scotland.’ The client is Network Rail on behalf of the Scottish Executive and the design team includes Arup and Turner & Townsend.

The project is a tour de force of access-friendly vertical circulation & lifts and escalators transporting passengers between the station and its new ‘front door’ twelve-and-a-half metres higher on Princes Street Shopping.
Structural trees support a glazed carapace which will provide weather protection and create a modern image for the transport network within a heritage-rich context.

Tom Rhys Jones of Jefferson Sheard is delighted that the practice’s new Edinburgh office has secured such a prestigious commission and eagerly anticipates the £6.7m project starting on site in January 2006.

Jefferson Sheard Architects – Waverley Steps: information 23 May 05

We viewed the A5 brochure of this proposal for glass canopies and escalators up the windy funnel between the Balmoral and Princes Mall. The leaflets were handed out at Waverley Station where there was a brief exhibition from 13-14 May 2005

Sep 2005 Update:

Waverley Steps Project Delay
Jefferson Sheard project – £6.6m Waverley Steps escalators/canopies – delayed by Balmoral Hotel & Historic Scotland. CEC quite rightly wants progress for this windy & dingy funnel but perhaps the proposals are currently too ‘heavy’.
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Waverley Steps architect : Jefferson Sheard Architects

Edinburgh Walking Tours

Hotel Missoni Edinburgh

Adjacent buildings include New Town St James Centre, Jenners, Balmoral Hotel

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