Once the canopy is gone, Lewis Cubbitt鈥檚 Grade I listed Victorian station fa莽ade will be revealed for the first time in 150 years and London鈥檚 newest public space 鈥� King鈥檚 Cross Square 鈥� will emerge.
Network Rail describes the canopy as 鈥榦ne of the capital鈥檚 longest surviving temporary buildings鈥�. Its removal marks the start of the final phase of the biggest transformation in station鈥檚 160-year history, with the new square 鈥� designed by architects Stanton Williams 鈥� due to open in autumn 2013.
At more than 7,000 square metres, King鈥檚 Cross Square will be 50% bigger than Leicester Square and will open up views across to St Pancras International.
Network Rail programme manager Matt Tolan said: 鈥榃e鈥檙e finally removing a building that鈥檚 almost universally unloved, restoring the station to its full architectural glory and creating a modern station fit for the future that gives passengers and the local community a huge new space to enjoy. With the completion of the final phase of King鈥檚 Cross station鈥檚 redevelopment, we aim to bring a bit of the grandness and old-world charm of Europe鈥檚 city-centre railway stations right to the heart of 21st century London.鈥�
Murphy senior project manager Patrick Shaw added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to begin work on the imaginatively designed square which deftly resolves several complicated challenges. Delivering a scheme at a station which handles 47m passengers per year requires a carefully considered approach to passenger flow management. We have deployed innovative methods and placed the station users at the heart of the planning in order to ensure safe and easily navigable access, in particular, to and from rail and underground platforms.鈥�
The final phase of works follows the opening of the glass and steel western concourse in March, providing three-times more space for passengers than the old concourse, with improved links to both the London Underground network and St Pancras International station.
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