AN ICONIC TR ANSPOR T HUB IN THE HEAR T OF SLOUGH

AWARDS
2012 IS T R U C T E S T R U C T U R AL
AWAR D - T R ANSP O R TAT I O N AN D
I N FR A S T R U C T U R E

Shortlisted

2012 S T R U C T U R AL S T EEL AWAR D

Shortlisted

SLOUGH BUS STATION

SLOUGH, UK
Central Slough is currently undergoing
a visionary 400 million regeneration
programme known as The Heart of
Slough. BuroHappold Engineering has
been involved with many of the key
projects forming this exciting initiative.
Our team has played an important role in
replacing a number of outdated buildings,
a badly planned bus station and an
underground pedestrian interchange
with new commercial and civic facilities
and a pedestrian friendly roadway. The
first major improvement project to be
completed was the redevelopment of
Slough Bus Station into a unified transport
hub that connects travellers to the centre
of the town.
Before redevelopments began, the centre
of Slough was difficult to reach from the
towns railway and bus stations, with a
busy road making pedestrian crossings
hazardous. The new bus station needed
to form the first part of a more pedestrian
friendly access route to and from the town
centre. Using our technical understanding
of interconnected systems we were able to

advise on the best approach to enhancing

the safety, connectivity and convenience
of the areas pedestrian infrastructure.
Within the site, consideration was also
given to bus stop waiting areas and
pedestrian thoroughfares providing sight
lines from the town centre to the transport
hub. Our team of experts also analysed
car park capacities and pedestrian
infrastructure linking these facilities to the
site.
When the Heart of Slough masterplan
is complete the new bus station will be
surrounded by five new office towers.
Traffic flow optimisation across all aspects
of the development was intrinsically
linked therefore the surrounding highway
network was modelled to assess a
combination of the impact of redistributed
buses and office traffic generation. This
modelling exercise, and a subsequent
safety audit, revealed that significant
alterations to an adjacent gyratory system
were necessary in order to achieve an
optimal road network with minimal
congestion problems.

Copyright 1976-2015 BuroHappold Engineering. All Rights Reserved

CLI EN T
Slough Borough Council
AR CH I T EC T
Bblur Architecture
PR OJ EC T VALU E
5.5 million
D U R AT I O N
Completed May 2011
SERV I CE S PR OV I D ED BY
BU R O HAPP O LD
Transport and mobility, infrastructure and
utilities engineering, ground engineering,
computation analysis, building services
engineering (MEP), structural engineering,
sustainability

Image Bblur

Sustainability was a key imperative for

Slough Borough Council and a variety of
efficiency measures were incorporated
into our design approach.
The bus station uses ground source heat
pumps connected to high efficiency
heating and cooling systems to reduce
energy consumption, with a closed
loop well field situated under the main
forecourt of the bus station. Rainwater
from the main canopy is collected and
recycled on site to be used for toilet
flushing. As a result, the bus station
achieved a BREEAM Very Good rating.

Additionally, we achieved the complex,

sculptural form in a cost effective manner
by covering the building in aluminium
panels. These create a softly textured
metallic surface that changes colour with
varying light conditions. The iconic bus
station was designed to resemble waves of
light and is truly a public work of art which,
together with the wider scheme, will
greatly improve perceptions of the town

One of the key challenges for our

engineering team was to realise the
architects vision of a wave shaped
structure for the station. We were able to
accomplish this using a pair of long span
undulating trusses to form an elegant
canopy. This unique covering provides a
sheltered route for pedestrians walking
between the adjacent railway station and
the town centre and can be extended
to twice its current length when the
developments are completed.

CLI EN T
Slough Borough Council
AR CH I T EC T
Bblur Architecture
PR OJ EC T VALU E
5.5 million
D U R AT I O N
Completed May 2011
SERV I CE S PR OV I D ED BY
BU R O HAPP O LD
Transport and mobility, infrastructure and
utilities engineering, ground engineering,
computation analysis, building services
engineering (MEP), structural engineering,
sustainability

Images Bblur

Copyright 1976-2014 BuroHappold Engineering. All Rights Reserved