Big architects share out East London Line spoils

A host of big name architects have been lined up to design schemes for the £1bn East London Line extension to the London Underground.

Two of the four stations, Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street, will be designed by Wilkinson Eyre and the remaining two, Dalston Junction and Haggerston, will be designed by John McAslan + Partners.

McAslan has also drawn up plans for an interchange between the Docklands Light Railway and East London Line at Shadwell, while Marks Barfield is designing a control and administration centre in New Cross.

Scott Brownrigg is responsible for the refurbishment of six stations, from Whitechapel down to Surrey Quays, and has also been charged with managing the overall vision. It will produce a design manual for the three architects to keep standards consistent. The firm is acting as architectural adviser to consultant Mott MacDonald, which has been appointed as technical adviser to client Transport for London.

The stations will also unlock development plans in the surrounding area. At Dalston Junction, John McAslan + Partners has drawn up a masterplan for a mixed-use regeneration scheme that includes 800 homes. The plan covers two sites, one above the station and another across the road at Dalston Lane South. The practice submitted a plan for a mixed-use scheme above the station for a client team led by Transport for London this week, which includes more than 300 homes in nine buildings – one of 19 storeys.

Dalston, like all the new stations, has planning consent. It will be a transport interchange for buses and taxis. It will have four platforms; two tracks will stop at the station and two will go towards Dalston Kingsland station in preparation for phase two of the extension, which will link the East London Line with the North London Line.

It’s a massive transport scheme but has regeneration interwoven in it

Hiro Aso, John McAslan + Partners

Hiro Aso, project architect for John McAslan + Partners, said: “It’s a massive transportation scheme but has regeneration interwoven in it.”

The Dalston Lane South site has been designed by Arup Associates for clients Hackney council and the London Development Agency. Arup will submit its project for planning in two weeks. It includes 2200 m2 of leisure space, 11,000 m2 of retail space and 15,000 m2 of residential space.

The two sites have been tendered together and a development partner will be appointed in spring 2006. Sources close to the project say Taylor Woodrow has emerged as a frontrunner from the shortlist of six. Earlier this month developer Urban Catalyst dropped out of the shortlist, claiming the project was too large.

Shoreditch High Street station, which will be built on the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site, is also expected to trigger nearby development. A spokesperson for the East London Line extension said: “There is the capacity to build over the station, and we are putting a crash deck above the station for this, but it will not be a TfL project. It will be up to a developer if this goes ahead.”

A £500m contract for a consortium to handle all the construction work for the extension is due to be awarded in April next year. But sources close to the project said the work might be too much for one team, and it was likely to be split between two consortiums.