Old Oak Common Station urban realm: Transforming a brownfield site into a vibrant new public space and parkland

Old Oak Common is a new super-hub set to be the best-connected and largest new railway station ever built in the UK. It is also the catalyst for the reimagining of a new West London neighbourhood in Old Oak and Park Royal.

As part of WSP’s role as lead designer of the station, we delivered the urban realm strategy working alongside partners Grant Associates and WilkinsonEyre.

This will transform the complex land-locked brownfield site that is characterised by disused railway maintenance yards into a vibrant new public space and parkland, as well as a world-class station.

The design focuses on people-centred and natural design solutions to create a healthy and accessible space that champions the role of place as part of the first new intercity railway to be built north of London in over a century.

Location

London, United Kingdom

Client

High Speed Two Ltd

Project Status

Under construction

The station will have 14 platforms overall

14

The design sits above a station box big enough to fit 300 Olympic swimming pools

300

Early reference designs for the station were distinguished by grey industrial infrastructure, centred around a transport corridor leaving large open voids.

Working with High Speed Two’s (HS2) vision for place, our design balanced a need to create a world-class arrivals space with the opportunity to catalyse a thriving neighbourhood with the urban realm as the gateway to the local area.

The urban realm is one of the focal points for the Old Oak and Park Royal masterplan surrounding the station, requiring our design team to consider the design’s impact beyond the station boundaries.

The integration of the urban realm and park into the local community has required continued engagement with adjacent developments. Using master planning principles, our design ensures that the boundary between where the park ends and other development begins is seamless.

Rick Wild Associate Landscape Architect

Rick Wild Associate Landscape Architect

Seamless expertise and experience

Our initial urban realm design work required seamless integration between WSP’s urban designers with WSP’s structural engineers delivering against the requirements for a 21st-century high-speed rail station.

With the majority of the urban realm above the station box, this included knowing the weight limits and distribution. As an integrated design team, a practical design solution was created reducing the risk of lengthy modifications in the future.

This access to WSP specialists was repeated throughout, helping inform the urban realm design in disciplines ranging from hostile vehicle mitigation to flood risk, lighting design to carbon management and assessment of BREEAM and biodiversity net gain (BNG) calculations.

The integrated vision also meant that the urban realm design could be added to the station’s Building Information Model (BIM), ensuring a fully coordinated design between all design disciplines. This was as well as being included in the digital twin and virtual reality models for use in public engagement.

The Old Oak Common Station is poised to be a new super hub of connectivity. That means connecting people as well as services. The urban space around the station is an essential part of the stations design, creating a sense of place which will provide a new vibrant public area where the local community, station users, and workers can relax.

Sam Clark Head of Delivery for Old Oak Common, HS2 Ltd

Sam Clark Head of Delivery for Old Oak Common, HS2 Ltd

People-centred and natural design solutions

People are at the heart of the Old Oak Common design. The urban realm draws on the rich natural and cultural heritage of the area and engages with local communities and the needs of a diverse audience.

The urban realm and access to the station will be intuitive, legible and accessible with design informed through engagement with local communities and diverse user groups including those with physical impairments and neurodiverse needs. The design embeds resilience and the capacity to adapt to a changing social landscape.

This informed design reduces clutter by integrating hostile vehicle mitigation measures into landscape features, and the inclusion of wild water gardens, planting and natural materials to calm the space.

Natural design features will provide multiple purposes, with the three water gardens doubling as sustainable urban drainage and biophilic and ecological features enhancing nature and contributing to HS2’s biodiversity net gain goals.

Overall, the urban realm design establishes a distinctive contemporary landscape, with corridors to move through the space as well as dwell in it. It will leave a legacy that will help drive social value and regeneration in West London.