Waterloo International Terminal
London, UK · 1990–1993 (opened 1994) · £130m (1992 prices)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchUse of "banana-shaped" prismatic bow-string trusses with an off-center knuckle joint to solve site geometry constraints. - Extensive use of standardisation in components (e.g., central pin joints, glass fixings) to ease manufacture and erection despite the complex geometry. - Use of horizontal glass fins as beams to support the glazing on top of the large trusses, avoiding additional steel members. - The project won the RIBA President’s Building of the Year and the Mies van der Rohe Award for European Architecture.
Key engineering challenges
Designing a 400m-long roof on a highly constricted, tapering, and curving site squeezed between existing rail tracks and the site boundary. - Creating an asymmetric arch profile to provide clearance for trains on the western edge while accommodating varying spans (from 48.5m to 32.7m). - Developing a complex 3D computer model to manage the geometry and setting out points for the roof structure. - Designing a flexible cladding system ("snake's scales") to accommodate the twisting and turning of the building.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- British Railways Board and European Passenger Services
- Lead contractor
- Bovis Construction
- Lead designers
- Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners (architect), YRM Anthony Hunt Associates (structural engineer)
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- 400m-long roof; 36 arches; 5 platforms accommodating 394m long trains; 10,000m² of structural glazing; 10,000m² of stainless steel cladding.
- Disciplines
- Civil; structural; architectural; railway engineering
- Standards & frameworks
- UK Building Regulations; railway standards
Sources: Grimshaw: International Terminal Waterloo (https://grimshaw.global/projects/rail-and-mass-transit/international-terminal-waterloo/) - Wikipedia: Waterloo International railway station (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_International_railway_station) - Building.co.uk: From the archives: the construction of Waterloo International, 1992 (https://www.building.co.uk/news/from-the-archives-the-construction-of-waterloo-international-1992/5135347.article)