Slough Bus Station was conceived as a functional urban sculpture. It's curved form and textured aluminium skin change character under different light conditions. The design featured in "The world's 10 best-designed bus stations" - Design Curial. The Royal Academy selected our scheme for inclusion in their annual Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
The scheme replaces a dark, damp and unpleasant under croft bus facility located beneath a 1970s car park that featured in the opening credits of the BBC sitcom, 'The Office'.
The relationship between the new bus station and the existing railway station creates a new transport interchange. The distinctive identity of the building makes it a town marker, aiding wayfinding and acting as a pedestrian gateway to Slough.
An accommodation building, which faces the existing railway station and forecourt, anchors the first phase of the Bus Station at its northern end. A public café, waiting room, newsagent, and operational facilities are located at ground level to create a live street edge.
A 70m long double wave canopy provides shelter for passengers and creates a new pedestrian street between Brunel Way and Wellington Street. The pedestrianised street is separated from external passenger waiting areas by a linear paving strip with integrated led lighting.
A zig-zag glazed screen, incorporating automatic sliding doors, to the head of each bus bay protects passengers and safe step-free access to the buses.
The Bus Station was the first building to be delivered as part of the ‘Heart of Slough’ regeneration master plan. The master plan envisages a mixed-use development of; office, recreational and residential areas linked across a tamed Wellington Street (A4) to the existing High Street.
A future 60m extension to the canopy, to connect the train and bus stations to the town centre, is planned once the neighbouring office developments are complete.
Client:
Architecture:
Structural and M&E:
Project Manager:
Landscape Architect:
Quantity Surveyor:
Planning Consultant:
Photography:
Slough Borough Council
BBLUR architecture
Buro Happold
Filton Associates
Spacehub
Gardiner & Theobald
Drivas Jonas Deloitte
Hufton & Crow
Matt Clayton
Richard Seymour