This afternoon I had the opportunity to take a look at the new, redeveloped St Pancras station, which is now used for the Eurostar trains to Paris and Brussels (and a few other places, like Euro Disney and, curiously, Avignon). The station had previously been used only for trains to the East Midlands and Sheffield (back in the day, it was also used for trains to Luton and Bedford, which now go through Thameslink to the south coast, and you could get to Manchester too). I never found the station all that impressive; it had a really grand Victorian facade but inside, it was just like a big, empty train shed. (Believe it or not, you could get to the East Midlands from two London terminals, the other being Marylebone, from which trains ran via Aylesbury and Rugby. Marylebone is still there, but most of the line up to the Midlands was ripped up in the 1960s.)
When I got there today I expected the station to be complete. Well, St Pancras itself is, but the outside is still a building site. They are still building the luxury (natch) apartments above the station, called St Pancras Chambers, and so access to the station from the front is only through a narrow passageway past the wooden walls of the building site. Inside, the station still has the empty shed ambience that it had before. They've painted the metalwork light blue, and added an extension further up track, in a completely different style to the original. The station for the East Midlands, reduced to four platforms, has been shoved further up to the back of the station, so anyone who wants to use the trains has to walk quite a bit further than they did before.
There are two new statues in the station - a huge one, of a couple kissing each other goodbye, and a small one, of John Betjeman, the poet who campaigned to save St Pancras from being knocked down. I saw the champagne bar (imaginatively titled The Champagne Bar), which is supposedly the longest such bar in the world or something, but unless there is another such bar on the premises, it was really nothing special - I expected it to be platform length or something like that. It wasn't that big and the length didn't look remarkable. There were two separate musical performances going on on the upper floor, and anyone entering through the former main entrance and needing to get to the trains had to fight their way through the audiences. Well planned, eh?
I think Betjeman was wrong. St Pancras is an ugly building - not 1960s brutalist ugly I admit, but ugly all the same, and if it had been knocked down, it would have been no great loss.
Yusuf, what absolute heresy on your part! I'm waiting until the work is finished to say what I might think about the refurbishment, but I'm with Betjeman on this one.
Salams, Yahya
I am wondering what Muslims think of classical British architecture like Georgian, Victorian, and Art Deco? Do they love it or would they be happier to see anything pre 1945 smashed to rubble. There must be over a million Muslims who live in Victorian houses and send their children to school in Victorian buildings. Muslims haven't moved out to suburbs or newer neighbourhoods as much as other ethnic groups have in the past 20 or so years. Is this because they genuinely like what the Victorians built and don't want to see it destroyed by greedy property developers and replaced by blocks of yuppie flats.
No great loss? William Barlow 's train shed was the largest single span building in the world when it was built. It was a remarkable piece of engineering at a time when Britain led the world in engineering. It has been hit by three bombs during the world wars and stood up to the blasts. Would you have preferred to have seen it knocked down and 60's concrete tower blocks erected instead?
The blue of the iron work is the same blue of the original train shed, ordered by the Station Master who were powerful people in their day. The new extension is a piece of engineering excellence in itself. St Pancras is a grade 1 listed building. This means that it's one of a kind in the world. Do you really think English Heritage were happy with them building an extension to this building. The only way English Heritage would allow the extension was a design that took no flare away from the original train shed.. which I believe has been achieved.
50,000,000 man hours have gone into this project. People's whole career's and they must be very proud of what has been achieved.
I find your post narrow minded and naive. Have you missed all the fantastic media coverage this building has had recently. I'm proud we have possibly the best train station in the world in our Capital city.
M Risbrook, i think it is a bit much to ask what Muslims think about British architecture. I mean, Islam doesn't really have much to say on the subject, i don't think... i am sure there are Muslims who are fans, and Muslims who don't care, just as with the rest of the population.
I personally love ye olde London, and the vibe i get from places like St Pauls. I hate concrete tower blocks and estates; they are an eyesore - were they ever considered stylish?! I do like the look of some of the newer apartment buildings in the Docklands area. Must be expensive though...