From road to place – our vision for Euston Road

Together with Bartlett School of Architecture, last week we launched the report Euston Road: Propositions for Change which explores alternative uses for the Euston Road corridor in London. With the support of British Land, Camden Council, and Living Streets, the new report collates design propositions by us and three other practices in parallel with a selection of conceptual projects from UCL Bartlett students. It was an evening at the NLA London Centre, with PechaKucha presentations from the four practices followed by a panel debate.

Euston Road is a key access point to London from Euston Station as well as a major highway across the city. The road carries around 1,730 vehicle movements an hour during peak time and forms part of the northern boundary of the Congestion Charge zone.

A collaboration between practice, academia, local authority and landowners, Euston Road: Propositions for Change combines visionary design concepts from White Arkitekter, Fletcher Priest Architects, AHMM and Arup, alongside UCL Bartlett students. With support of British Land, Camden Council and Living Streets, the report proposes visions for a better, greener, and more sustainable urban space. A key driver behind the visions includes the necessity to plan for climate change, with increased biodiversity and a focus on sustainable construction and travel built into the plans.

As a large Scandinavian practice with an international presence, we work in many sectors with focus on sustainable environments. In the UK the majority of our work is in healthcare and urban design, two fields that we’ve combined in our proposal for Euston Road.
Linda Thiel, Director at White Arkitekter London

With our proposition of transforming a Road to a Place, we focus on three themes of wellbeing: planetary, social, and ecological and propose solutions within three areas: the streets, the commons, and the hospital park. Our strategy is to reclaim the land from the traffic that dominates Euston Road and provide a vision for a wellbeing economy opportunity area.

The streets

Planetary wellbeing: The streets
The streets propose solutions to free up space for other uses than traffic. This includes proposals such as raised bus stops for fast accessible passenger changeover, delivery hubs that reduces the last-mileover related traffic and cycle bridges over large junctions for fast and safe cycling.

The commons

Social wellbeing: The commons
The commons focus on social wellbeing and propose interventions to boost social and climate solutions. For example, by proposing upcycling workshops, a space for local food production, hub for study, and a rainwater retention pond.

The hospital park

Ecological wellbeing: The hospital park
At the core of the proposal is a hospital park in front of the University College Hospital, to raise awareness on health in the city and nature as part of the recovery process. The park creates a healing environment that reduces stress, increases mobility, and improve wellbeing.

Contact person

Linda Thiel

Linda Thiel

Director

Stockholm

+44 203 897 08 12

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