Arup’s design for HS2’s Interchange station received a gold award in this year’s World Architecture News (WAN) awards ceremony. The awards bring together the most senior and influential professionals from across Architecture internationally to recognise and celebrate excellence.
This year’s awards, held online due to lockdown restrictions, saw designs for the new Solihull HS2 station recognised in the “Future Projects – Transport” category for their sustainability credentials and the station’s glue-laminated timber structure, which judges said is a “very impressive response to sustainable design for the future”.
The award follows on from the station’s recent recognition as the first railway station globally to achieve the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certification – a measure of sustainability for new and refurbished buildings – putting it in the top 1% of buildings in the UK for eco-friendly credentials.
HS2’s Project Director for Interchange Station Tom Wilne said: “We are aiming to make HS2 the most sustainable railway in the world, and ensure our designs can be enjoyed by everyone. Interchange station will be net zero in operation and is a key part of our strategy to reduce carbon and meet the Government’s 2050 zero-carbon target. WAN’s recognition of the sustainability of our station design is a fantastic endorsement of HS2’s design approach.”
Accepting the award for Arup, Kim Quazi, Lead Architect, said: “I would like to thank, on behalf of Arup, HS2 who have given us the opportunity to design a truly sustainable and world class station in the West Midlands.” He also thanked Arup’s team who he said had “worked tirelessly to deliver on HS2’s Design Vision.”
HS2’s Interchange station is at the heart of HS2 network in Solihull, and earlier this year the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ landmark award recognised the station’s eco-friendly features. These include maximising natural daylight and ventilation, a station roof design which can capture and reuse rainwater, and features to enable net zero carbon emissions from day-to-day energy consumption.
Energy efficient technology will be incorporated, such as air source heat pumps and LED lighting. In addition, the station and Automated People Mover maintenance facility will have over 2,000m2 of solar panels generating zero carbon electricity.
BREEAM is the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method. It sets the standard for best practice in sustainable design and has become the de facto measure used to describe the sustainability performance of buildings.