Strand Aldwych: Repurposing a congested London road into a vibrant public space

Strand Aldwych is home to some of London’s leading cultural and educational establishments including the historic Somerset House, the world-class education centres of Kings College London and London School of Economics as well as the churches of St Mary Le Strand and St Clement Danes.

In 2022, the area underwent a major transformation. This involved converting one of London’s busiest and most congested roads into a new a 7,000m² pedestrian space that knits these institutions together. This has made Strand Aldwych a destination in its own right and more attractive as an economic and social hub.

Location

London, United Kingdom

Client

Westminster City Council | Northbank BID

Project Status

Completed

Award

New London Architecture 2023 – Best Public Space

visitors to the area every year

14m 14m

businesses operate in the area employing 20,000 people

400 400

new pedestrian space, the size of a football field

7,000m2 7,000m2

Actionable innovation to convert a vision for place into a practical reality

Northbank Business Improvement District (BID) and Westminster City Council worked with LDA Design to develop the concept design for this new public destination, removing traffic and creating a brand new public space.

To bring this vision to life and unlock this complex site, WSP and FM Conway assembled a multidisciplinary team to project manage and deliver the entire scheme including transport, drainage and structural engineering professionals.

The beautiful Grade I listed St Mary Le Strand church sits at the heart of the scheme. Our designers helped optimise the layout around this to improve wayfinding, encouraging people to move seamlessly throughout the area.

New seating areas create places for people to dwell and socialise, and the street furniture has been carefully designed and specified to meet diverse user needs, this was reinforced as part of accessibility reviews carried out by Withernay Projects.

Strand Aldwych includes 1,370m² of green space with 41 new trees such as Alamanchier, Ulums, New Horizon and Betula Edinburgh species to provide colour throughout the year. This green space improves air quality, supports biodiversity, cools the urban heat island effect and provides shade for people dwelling in the area in the summer including students at the universities.

Expertise and experience to overcome design challenges

Challenges included designing around existing utilities, pipe subways, building basements and the Kingsway Tunnel below the site. The input of multidisciplinary technical expertise from WSP was therefore key to finding workable, practical and affordable solutions while retaining the intent of the design vision.

We worked with D.J. Goode and Associates to adjust the design and layout to incorporate hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) measures into the alignment of existing utilities, with some of the new seating across the scheme acting as part of the HVM solution.

The area was bombed heavily in World War II and so excavation below 300mm required engagement with ordinance teams at First Line Defence. Archaeology partners Preconstruct Archaeology also supervised all excavation below 500mm.

A seamless transformation from roads to a green oasis

To realise this project, a 200m stretch of road was closed and a one-way street was converted into a two-way traffic arrangement overnight. This was completed seamlessly without disruption to the area.

WSP’s transport designers, project managers and stakeholder engagement teams worked with Transport for London and traffic modellers at Norman Rourke Pryme to coordinate a workable solution with the least impact on the local community and road users. This included fortnightly updates to stakeholders on all works including resurfacing, closures and night-time working.

As Strand Aldwych is also an important hub for public transport, bus stands and taxi stands serving the nearby West End theatre district were repositioned, as were servicing and delivery facilities. As part of the upgrade, footpaths were widened, new pedestrian crossings were added, and unnecessary street furniture was removed to improve the pedestrian experience.

In alignment with the Mayor of London and Council’s goals to improve air quality and reduce congestion, provision for active travel was prioritised with increased cycle parking, cycle lanes and improved junction safety.