5th Studio – appointed through a competitive tender via the GLA’s ADUP II Framework – is leading a multidisciplinary design and planning team to produce a planning and development framework. Their work is focused on Stratford Station, how it can be improved as an interchange and how it links to the nearby International Station. A key part of this study will also assess how better connectivity could be formed between Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Stratford Town Centre. The team will also identify strategies to enable the station to be more accessible and passenger friendly.
In 2019, The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) identified Stratford Station as the seventh busiest Network Rail station in the UK and it is estimated that there are 128 million passenger movements a year across all lines. The passenger demand is expected to continue to increase in the future, even post-Covid.
5th Studio is working with Expedition Engineering, Momentum Transport, Turner & Townsend and Giorgia Sharpe with Thomas Matthews to develop a vision and urban design framework. This work will inform the strategic business case for the long-term redevelopment of Stratford Regional Station that is being progressed by LLDC, Network Rail, LB Newham and TfL.
The scale of transformation needed is similar to what has been seen at Kings Cross and London Bridge.
LLDC, the regeneration agency responsible for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, is leading on the procurement of this project as part of its work alongside Network Rail, LB Newham and TfL.
Rosanna Lawes, Executive Director of Development at LLDC, said:
“The scale of regeneration on and around the Park has meant that passenger usage at Stratford Station has trebled over the past ten years.
“This essential work will not only help us make a case to government which secures Stratford as an appealing place to work, live and visit, but it will also help us identify ways in which we can improve local connectivity and job opportunities for nearby residents.”
Tom Holbrook, Director of 5th Studio, said:
“Stratford has been shaped by the railway, but the railway has set up some challenging obstacles to movement and connectivity that have baked in inequality. We are delighted to win this important commission, which builds on previous work over the last decade to ‘improve connectivity on and around the Olympic park and Legacy Boroughs.
The project presents an opportunity to ensure strong, well-designed connections between Stratford Town Centre and the growing social, cultural and economic assets of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and its neighbouring communities across East London.
In doing so we hope to unlock a much better interchange around Stratford Regional Station and bring the International station more into play.”