The Anonymous Widower

British Land Unveils Plans To Transform London’s Euston Tower Into A Life Sciences And Innovation Hub

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from British Land.

The Wikipedia entry for the Euston Tower gives this paragraph of history.

The site was developed by Joe Levy who bought properties along the north side of Euston Road to enable him to build a complex of two tower blocks with office shops and apartments. The building, which was designed by Sidney Kaye Eric Firmin & Partners in the International style and built by George Wimpey, was completed in 1970. It is 36-storeys and 124 metres (407 ft) high. Early tenants included Inmarsat and Capital Radio.

When you get to over fifty years old, various parts of your body get tired and I suspect it is the same with buildings.

These are the two bullet points of the press release.

• Euston Tower represents a major retrofit and redevelopment opportunity at the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter
• Proposals aim to transform the building into a world-class net zero home for world-leading life science and innovation occupiers

These two paragraphs then add a bit more vision.

Leading property company British Land has unveiled plans to redevelop Euston Tower through an innovative combination of retention, re-use and an ultra-low carbon new structure. The plans would transform the building into a pioneering, modern, net zero workspace for cutting-edge businesses of all sizes, including new world-class, lab-enabled spaces at the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter.

Currently under discussion with Camden Council and other local stakeholders, the vision for Euston Tower will lead the way in low carbon retrofit and construction techniques, using inclusive design which creates high quality workspaces and continues to support the local community and economy. The current proposals will bring forward lab-enabled spaces for start-up and scale-up innovation businesses, as well as spaces for the local community to support education and training opportunities.

These are points from the press release.

1. Leading the design are award-winning Danish architecture practice 3XN.
2. They are supported by London-based architecture and landscape studio DSDHA who re-designed much of Broadgate’s public realm, including Exchange Square.
3. In line with British Land’s longstanding commitment to net zero development, the design’s sustainability strategy is based on retaining, re-using and re-cycling existing material, specifying low carbon and recycled materials where new is required and only using certified carbon offsets as an action of last resort.
4. This multi-layered approach to net zero development aims to create a blueprint for the sustainable redevelopment of challenging, inflexible old buildings that can be used in the future.

British Land has owned and operated Regent’s Place for nearly 40 years, which means they must have a lot of knowledge about how best to develop the building and its surroundings.

They certainly seem to be applying a modern net-zero approach to a building that was iconic and modern in the 1970s.

This afternoon I walked down the Euston Road between Euston and Great Portland Street stations and took these pictures.

Note.

1. Euston Station is a shadow of its former self.
2. Euston Tower is the boxy tower on the North side of Euston Road.
3. University College London Hospital (UCLH) is the tower on the South side of Euston Road.
4. I believe the glass-fronted building opposite the hospital and Euston Tower contains a lot of BT infrastructure.

I have some thoughts.

Traffic Along The Euston Road

I took the pictures around 1400 in a Friday and they show how busy the Euston Road is most of the time.

According to the Wikipedia entry for the Euston Road, there was a plan to remove the underpass.

In the early-21st century, the Greater London Authority commissioned a plan to improve the road from the architectural firm, Terry Farrell and Partners. The original study proposed removing the underpass (which was subsequently cancelled) and providing a pedestrian crossing and removing the gyratory system connecting the Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street. The scheme was approved by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone as “the start of changing the Marylebone to Euston road from a highway into a series of linked public spaces.” The pedestrian crossing opened in March 2010. Livingstone’s successor, Boris Johnson, favours keeping the Euston Road underpass and declared it to be a good place to test his nerves when cycling around London.

Nothing is said about, where the traffic would have gone, if the underpass had been closed.

I walked along the South side of the Euston Road past the hospital and the air couldn’t be considered clean. As I write this, this website rates it Hazardous.

If we ignore the pollution for pedestrians and cyclists, is it really a road, that is fit for the purpose of moving traffic between King’s Cross and Baker Street, and vice-versa? I don’t think so!

The UK Needs More Lab Space

Cambridge innovators and developers were always saying they needed more lab space.

I also suspect, they are moaning in Oxford too!

So building high-quality space in London could reduce the pressure.

In Canary Wharf Boosts Its Science Ambitions, I talked about the ambitions of Canary Wharf to be a life sciences hub.

The Euston Tower Is Well-Connected

Consider.

• The Euston Tower is within walking distance of Euston, King’s Cross and St. Pancras stations, with all their long distance connections.
• The Euston Tower is within walking distance of Euston Square, Great Portland Street, King’s Cross St. Pancras and Warren Square stations, with all their Underground connections.
• There are buses everywhere.

But that’s not to say, that these links cannot be improved.

Euston High Speed Two Station Could Be Euston Tower’s Sister?

This Google Map shows the location of Euston Town and the proposed Euston High Speed Two station.

Note.

1. Euston Tower is marked by a red arrow in the South-West corner of the map.
2. The existing Euston station is in the North-East corner of the map.
3. The High Speed Two station will be built along the Western side of the existing station.

With good landscaping, an excellent walking route, and perhaps a people mover Euston Tower could have superb connections to the rest of the UK.

Cycling And Walking Could Be A Possibility!

This Google Map shows the wider area around Euston Tower.

Note.

1. Euston Tower is marked by the red arrow towards the bottom of the map.
2. To its West lies the cycling- and walking-friendly spaces of Regents Park and Primrose Hill.

In the 1970s, I regularly walked or cycled across the park from where we lived near Primrose Hill to a client in Great Portland Street.

I also suspect other cycling and walking routes could be developed to Euston Tower from Euston, King’s Cross, St. Pancras and other stations.

Crossrail 2

Crossrail 2 would certainly help travelling to the Euston Tower, by linking Euston, King’s Cross and St.Pancras to North-East and South-West suburbs of London, with trains at frequencies of up to 30 thirty trains per hour (tph) in the central tunnel.

But.

• The new line will cost at least £31.2 billion. Who can afford it?
• The Elizabeth Line took sixteen years from approval to full opening.
• Crossrail 2 would still be a walk from Euston Tower.

So Crossrail 2 is unlikely to be any help to the redevelopment of Euston Tower.

Improving The Sub-Surface Lines

The Euston Tower is close to two stations on the sub-surface lines; Euston Square and Great Portland Street.

Services through these stations are currently as follows.

• Circle Line – 6 tph – In both directions all day.
• Hammersmith & City Line – 6 tph – In both directions all day.
• Aldgate and Amersham- 2 tph – In both directions all day.
• Aldgate and Chesham – 2 tph – In both directions all day.
• Aldgate and Uxbridge – 6 tph Peak – 8 tph – Off-Peak
• Aldgate and Watford – 4 tph – Peak

Note.

1. In the Peak there are 26 tph through Great Portland Street and Euston Square stations.
2. In the Off Peak there are 24 tph through Great Portland Street and Euston Square stations.
3. In this article on Modern Railways,it is said that after digital signalling is installed on the sub-surface lines, the capacity on the lines, will be 32 tph in the Peak and 27 tph in the Off-Peak.

These figures give a 33 % capacity increase in the Peak and a 28 % increase in the Off Peak.

Both Great Portland Street and Euston Square stations are cramped and not fully step-free stations and could struggle with a 28 % and upwards increase in passenger numbers.

In The New Step-Free Entrance At Euston Square Station, I detailed TfL’s plans to put a new full step-free entrance South of Euston Road at Euston Square station.

This would not directly help travellers going between Euston Tower and Euston station, but hopefully, it would help to make Euston station less crowded and more passenger-friendly.

It would certainly ease walking between University College and the hospital, and the station.

This map from cartometro shows the Underground lines at Great Portland Street station.

Note.

1. The yellow and mauve tracks are the sub-surface lines.
2. The black tracks are the Northern Line.
3. The blue tracks are the Victoria Line.

This Google Map shows the Euston Tower, Great Portland Street and Warren Street stations.

Note.

1. The Euston Tower is indicated by a red arrow in the top-right corner of the map.
2. Great Portland Street station is in the bottom-left corner of the map.
3. Warren Street station is at the left of the map.

I wonder if the platforms were to be extended Eastwards at Great Portland Street station, that a new entrance to the station could be created perhaps fifty metres from Euston Tower.

I am convinced that the extra passenger traffic created by the life sciences and innovation hub can be handled by an augmented transport infrastructure, which would rely mainly on planned improvements to the sub-surface lines, which are approaching their final stages.

Conclusion

Converting Euston Tower into a life sciences and innovation hub is a plan that I believe can work well!

I would recommend the following improvements to public transport.

• The planned extra step-free entrance to Euston Square station on Gordon Street is constructed.
• An  extra fully step-free entrance is built at the Eastern ends of the platforms at Great Portland Street station, which would be about halfway between Euston Tower and the station.

As improvements to the signalling of the sub-surface lines will deliver an upwards of 27 % capacity on the sub-surface lines, the life sciences and innovation hub might as well take advantage.

 

December 1, 2023 Posted by AnonW | News, Transport/Travel | Cambridge, Circle Line, Crossrail 2, Development, Docklands Light Railway, Elizabeth Line, Euston Square Station, Euston Station, Euston Tower, Great Portland Street Station, Hammersmith & City Line, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Euston Station, Innovation, King's Cross Station, London Underground, Oxford, Science, St. Pancras Station, Warren Street Station | 1 Comment