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In 2006 I made a return visit to the hell hole that is the new Eurostar terminal at King's Cross. Actually, it goes into next door at St Pancras, and what they've done is build this big concrete box, not to dissimilar to the horrid building we have at Euston. This new box has been cemented onto the train shed end, and is the most perfect carbuncle that the architectural world has ever seen. What have they done! Not only have they churned up acres of lovely land, they have disfigured the classic St Pancras by sticking this nasty great lump of concrete to it. Whats more, the station itself is in such a wretched state - they have burrowed underneath the old platforms, excavated under the whole of the old building and approach road. It's a sickening mess. I was mortified. 
So we're now stuck with this huge heap of white concrete welded onto the old station of red brick, gothic greatness, and glass. What a vugar statement, what an armpit of architectural stupidity. And then there's the mess. To get to this stage, the area has suffered years of closures on one of the biggest building sites in europe. Pity the poor old Camley Street nature reserve, still struggling on next door, amidst the putrid stench of the works and its monoxide mucus. Who knows what will happen next. They've made a big scar on England's landscape, and trashed a lot of central London. Shame, as the lands just north of King's Cross were the last areas of town which were untouched, littered with old cobbled roads, ancient buildings, and wild land. I was hoping that when the day came, that reconstruction would be more sensitive, but this couldnt be worse! I was angry. Very angry about what I saw here. Everything was truly repulsive, especially what they were doing with the foundations and core of my favourite building, St Pancras. Work has even started inside the hotel itelf, which in this insensitive modern age usually means gutting everything and just using the facade. I wish I had the power to stop it. Visit:- April 2007: I was alarmed at the plight of the dear old Stanley Buildings, an island of London now sold out to the bags of cash, and wilting under violent siege. These are the houses on the east side of the Terminal, an absolute barrier to the developer's utopia. Standing in the way of non progress, this is a last stand from the great King's Cross of old. Looking at the landscape, you can see how the lowlife executioners would love to run a road right through these buildings, and yet have to route the tarmac around them for now. They have done all but demolish these dwellings, and have made them uninhabitable. It's just the abuse from a child that can't get it's own way. And now I read of the block changing hands for millions£££. These buildings are betrayed. Their fate is surely sealed. The council made it's ill gotten gains, and now Eurotunnel can move in and destroy. Same goes for the lovable Culross Buildings, much further away, but still a target for the money makers. What fantastic history we are losing... Once again. Visit:- November 2007: The week that the Eurostar went operational from here, I thought I would see how the careless 'careful restoration' was proceeding. Of course it was a complete disaster, and they have ruined the station. Any highlight from the station's history is sidelined thanks to this sickening makeover which now makes this terminal look like any other. On first entering the concourse you see this annoyingly stupid statue. Already I was seething with anger, as I looked around at this desolate hulk of misery. All warmth and soul of this station is gone. The bright blue roof structure turns the eyes away from the now hidden gothic. Even the old booking office is off limits, and the the BR platforms moved out of sight, leaving the sterile glass barriers of the Eurostar arena to greet the traveller. This is just death. Just where is the beauty of victoriana? Wrecked, just like the former ancient undercroft, now gleaming under vile modernism and chain shops. To add insult, they have added a life size figure of Betjeman, as if he would ever approve of the sacrilege commited here. Yet there he was, as if joyous and happy to be photographed by the many architecture spotters gathered here today. I have no doubt he is rolling in his grave after seeing what desecration they have metered out on this beloved St Pancras. This hideous project is not yet completed, and the gothic hotel at the front continues to be violated and brutalized, and I fear the only outcome might be a facade housing typical doppler hotel facilites. How do we stop these architectural terrorists from ruining any more of this area? I hate it... I hate it all. Just look at what these rotters have done. |
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Charles (of London Town)
The London Destruction Website. |
