The reinvention of London's Grade I-listed King's Cross station by Network Rail, architectural practice John McAslan + Partners and engineers Arup is among Europe's most ambitious infrastructure projects. It has seen more than the restoration and modernization of the historic fabric of Lewis Cubitt's original double-barrelled train shed of 1852, in itself a masterpiece of rational design: the vast new semicircular Western Concourse, with its dramatic glass-and-steel canopy, creates at King's Cross one of Britain's most iconic examples of transport architecture. This fascinating book tells the complete story of the transformation of the station, a transport hub that is projected to be used by some 55 million people each year and is the gateway to the wider urban regeneration of the bustling surrounding area. With lively contributions from experts in the fields of architecture, planning and design, Transforming King's Cross is the essential record of a groundbreaking project, and offers a preview of the new dynamics of movement and place that are set to become familiar in our large cities over the coming decades. AUTHOR: Jay Merrick is architecture critic of The Independent newspaper. He writes regularly on architecture and art for such publications as Blueprint, Art Review, Architect's Journal and New Statesman, and has contributed texts to numerous monographs on leading architectural practices. SELLING POINTS: ?Presents the most significant infrastructure project in Britain in a quarter of a century ?Features essays by such leading architectural and planning commentators as Sir Peter Hall and Edwin Heathcote ?Profusely illustrated with archival images, plans, models and dramatic construction shots ILLUSTRATIONS 165 photos
