The Redevelopment project
The redevelopment of St Pancras is the incredible £800 million architectural restoration and extension of a unique London landmark. When the station first opened in 1868 William Barlow's train shed was a spectacular feat of Victorian engineering and held the world record for the largest enclosed space for many years.
The Barlow Shed
William Barlow was the Engineer in Chief to the Midland Railway Company. The creation of the "Barlow" shed was one of the great feats of Victorian engineering. The roof is 689 ft long by 100 ft high and with a 243 ft span it was the largest enclosed space in the world - a record held for many years. Restoration work has seen the Barlow Shed completely reglazed and the paint work taken back to its intended pale sky blue. Where possible the building has been restored by recycling the brick work from the original building or sourcing clay from the original clay sources in the Midlands.
The Extension
The masterplan for the extension to St Pancras was originally created by Sir Norman Foster, and has since been developed by RLE's Chief Architect Alistair Lansley. The glass extension has been designed to house the extra long Eurostar trains in their new home.
The completion of St Pancras is just one small part of the £6 billion project High Speed 1 (formerly known as the CTRL) and just the beginning of redevelopment and regeneration of the King's Cross area
Ridge and Furrow Glazing
The ridge and furrow glazing of the Barlow shed contains 14,080 glass panels, giving a total glassed area of nearly 10,000m2... Almost 2 football pitches - or 38 tennis courts. The bottom third of the roof is finished with 300,000 slates hand crafted and supplied from Wales.
