www.thinkbrick.com.au
Bricks & Pavers - Australia's low maintenance building materials. Inspiring home designs & information.
St Pancras Station, London
Constructed between 1864 and 1868, St Pancras Station was recognised as one of the most significant structures of its day.
Threatened with demolition in the 1960’s, heritage listed St Pancras Station has been given a new life as the new international terminus for Eurostar in 2007.
However this has meant drastic changes to Gilbert Scott’s 1876 Gothic Revival masterpiece. A new underground section of the station meant a whole section of elevation had to be demolished and rebuilt.
Up to two storeys high and complete with brick and stone arches, the new red brick facade has been termed 21st century Gothic by lead architect Alastair Lansley. Historic buildings consultant Roderick Shelton, who detailed the new façade, explains: ‘It’s primarily a replica of what was there originally and occupies the same footprint but has been tweaked to account for subtle changes arising out of the station’s new functions.’
In order to match the intricate and highly decorative Victorian brickwork on the existing St Pancras Station building it was necessary to rediscover a brick-making technique from Victorian times, develop a new way of cutting bricks and display bricklaying skills equal to or better than their Victorian counterparts.
All the bricks on the project were handmade and the Gothic arches alone required 20,000 ‘red rubber’ bricks in 45 different shapes, each numbered individually to ensure correct assembly. 30 bricklayers and 8 stonemasons carried out the work.
The quality of work on the western façade of St Pancras Station was unanimously recognised by the judges as the Supreme Winner at the 2006 Brick Awards run by the UK’s Brick Development Association.
