DSDHA Wins London's Waterloo City Square Project

One of the last remaining blights of 1960s London is set for regeneration following the selection of DSDHA as the design team for the Waterloo City Square scheme.

Fighting off competition from Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and EDAW, DSDHA has been selected to rethink the ugly and inaccessible street design in and around the IMAX roundabout, Waterloo Road and Waterloo Station to create a better experience for all users. Despite huge improvements since the ‘cardboard city’ days, the confusing labyrinth of streets and subways remains unwelcoming, unattractive and often feels unsafe.

Both the local community and the judging panel selected DSDHA as the best team for the job of revitalising this critical part of central London and creating an appropriate gateway to the South Bank’s cultural institutions and popular visitor attractions.

Over 1700 people took part in the local consultation which gave residents and employees the opportunity to meet each of the shortlisted design teams face to face and to evaluate their concepts.  Participants scored each team against a range of criteria, considering how well they had met the design brief. In the opinion of local people, DSDHA and their thinking showed particular strengths in making the area more attractive and better connected as well as safer and more pleasant for pedestrians and simpler to change mode of transport.

Deborah Saunt, co-founder of DSDHA comments: “We recognize Waterloo as one of the most important public spaces in the country, serving the busiest station in the UK with over 300,000 commuters each day, as well as being the gateway to London’s South Bank and home to thousands of local residents.

For us, this is a unique opportunity. Waterloo is a meeting place for people, journeys and identities. We hope to create seamless connections at ground level to allow dignified access for everyone to all local spaces - from The Cut to the South Bank, King’s College London to Lower Marsh, Coin Street to Waterloo Station. The labyrinth of underpasses will be a thing of the past and the IMAX will finally be able to takes its place as a landmark at the heart of the area.

This will be an incredibly important project to DSDHA, and we look forward to collaborating with stakeholders and the local community to realize our vision for this area and to consolidate the importance of Waterloo to central London, the outer boroughs and beyond.”

The judging panel was chaired by Peter Bishop, Group Director of Design, Development and Environment, London Development Agency. Commenting on the scheme he said: “By working together, the public and private sectors have come up with a clear plan to regenerate Waterloo City Square that is backed by local businesses and residents.  We want to get the area designed and transform the experience of visitors, where people can enjoy moving around the area - especially from Waterloo Station to the attractions on the South Bank.”

“We are focused on attracting investment into this area and believe that the regeneration of the spaces around Waterloo Station is critical to future growth. We are confident that by adopting the practical approach of phased delivery, we will be in a position to deliver significant improvements over the next 5 years and are looking forward to working with DSDHA and the LDA on this scheme.” says Ted Inman, Chief Executive, South Bank Employers’ Group which is managing the project.

It is anticipated that a final design will be submitted to planning at the end of the year, following further in-depth consultation with all stakeholders including local residents, employees and businesses.  The various consultation activities will be promoted throughout the area. 

This is how the architects describe their winning design:

Where the obelisk at St Georges Circus marks the entrance to London, the BFI IMAX on Waterloo Circus will claim its significance as the identifiable entrance to the Cultural Quarter of the South Bank for local residents, tourists and commuters. With the recent advancements in 4d technology, the BFI IMAX has finally come of age. We have carved, remodeled and overclad the existing building with a dynamic digital screen which reflects both its dynamic future and the richness of its connection to the BFI and the culture of film. 

By instinct people choose to walk on the ground.  The IMAX is given a new street level entrance and visible connections are carved through the site to give presence and identity to each of the buildings addressing Waterloo Circus. Existing streetscapes have been decluttered, with new crossings and a unified surface creating unhindered safe access to all transport modes and destinations from the river to the Old Vic Theatre.

The ground is gracefully unfolded around the BFI IMAX to create a seamless new connection to its lower entrance and onwards to engage King’s College London, the proposed Doon Street development and the South Bank. This new route replaces the existing labyrinth of subterranean routes with a continuous line of cultural and commercial activity from The Cut, through Waterloo Circus to the Thames at National Theatre Square, bringing together new and existing life.

And here some images from the other two shortlisted firms:

EDAW:

Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands:

Images: Waterloo City Square Competition