October in New York, the London-based architects Weston Williamson were announced winners in the annual AAP American Architecture Prize. The Paddington Integrated Project (PIP) won silver in the architectural transport design category at the AAP, which honours exceptional international designs across three disciplines: architectural design, interior design, and landscape architecture.
PIP is a multiple award-winning project initiated by the design work WW+P carried out on the Paddington Crossrail station. Crossrail, the delivery body of the new London Underground line (Elizabeth line) is to date, the largest, most ambitious transport infrastructure project in Europe. When designing the station at Paddington, it quickly became clear to the architects that the issues around the new station could not be resolved without considering the wider implications at the location Through discussions with key stakeholders, Weston Williamson helped develop a brief for the site as a whole. The new Crossrail station, an exemplar of well-integrated urban architecture is also part of a wider redevelopment of Paddington. The station and PIP, will provide a major new gateway for London serving local, national and international passengers. In order to create a world-class pedestrian space, the proposal considered design issues of heritage and conservation, provision of onward transport facilities, way-finding & orientation, and servicing & security. About this win, Chris Williamson said “Crossrail is a city-defining project which will make a huge difference to millions of Londoners every day. It is an honour to be working on Crossrail, and amongst the world’s best Engineers. Crossrail is a world-class, transformational scheme creating new urban spaces and helping regenerate brownfield sites, such as Woolwich, to make the city work more efficiently”. The delivery of the new Crossrail station at Paddington represents a major new piece of infrastructure in this principal terminus in West London, and the opportunity to improve the quality of experience of the existing station for all passengers. Weston Williamson’s design for Paddington Crossrail Station is described by the Client as “the Jewel in the Crown of Crossrail”.
