Slough Bus Station revamp revealed
Contractor McLaren construction has completed a stunning £7M revamp of the infamous Brunel Bus Station in Slough.
The station, made famous for its use in the opening credits of BBC’s The Office, has been rebuilt as part of a £450M Heart of Slough project to revitalise a large part of the town centre.
Slough Borough Council challenged a project team of McLaren Construction, BBlur Architecture and consultant Buro Happold to deliver a statement redevelopment. The completed project is a feat of engineering and cutting edge design, providing a landmark building in the transport hub area of the wider town regeneration project.
The building is clad in aluminium shingles to create a softly textured metallic surface which will change character with the varying light conditions. McLaren Construction used 3D modelling as a means of realising the complex design and a robust value engineering process enabled a reduction in overall delivery costs through the substitution of construction materials.
Structural engineer Buro Happold was responsible for the delivery of the sweeping steel structure itself; with all elements completed for the bus station’s opening in June 2011.
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Readers' comments (4)
What do you think of the new station?
Stuart Shurlock | 26-Aug-2011 1:43 pm
I cannot comment on Slough's bus station, but generally they are very tricky places to get right and keep right. Leeds' is the only one I know that is anywhere near in quality to a good train station. Guildford's is a horror in a lovely town, and Winchester's runs it close for awfulness. Basingstoke's is OK. Best of luck to Slough for trying!
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Duncan Smith | 27-Aug-2011 12:58 pm
Echoing Stuart's comments, Swindon bus station is the coldest and windiest place in town to wait for a bus. Heathrow bus station - the first experience of British public transport for many foreigners - is far from appealing.
I hope the designers have put as much thought into the comfort, security and warmth of waiting passengers as they have into the roof design. Too many bus stations repel rather than attract people into using our bus networks.
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Donna Marks | 7-Sep-2011 2:05 am
Asthetics 1 Usefullness a big fat 0.
Is this why at least one massive housing estate has had to wait over 25 years for regeneration and why so many council tenants still have to live in such apalling conditions?
Slough Town Planners should hang their heads in shame. Lucky for them they do not have to suffer the poor public facilites here.
I reckon they get paid enoough to suffer the journey in, while the rest of us pay the best part of £20 a day in taxis to get out.
After waisting over £6M on the High Street pavement that was laid mainly by outside foreign labourers and causing loads of disruption to retailers that were already in administration, you would hope that the next £7 M spend up would be carefully thought out with the actual local commuters needs.
The actual service provided by First Buses is so bad that they should be sacked. There are not enough buses running at key times and the drivers have absolute contempt for the paying passengers.
So who cares how cool or creative this new white elephant is?
I still have to use a bicycle or taxi because between First buses and the actual Bus Station they do not provide a pleasant experience in terms of actual buses or waiting areas.
This MUST change if the public are to stop driving and clogging up the whole of Slough. There is no way car drivers are going to want to commute into and out of that extremely unwelcoming but pretty stranger.
I used to love travelling all over Berkshire when their were more buses and they were more affordable. I do almost anything to avoid going into Slough now and prefer to stay at home and shop online.
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Donna Marks | 28-Mar-2012 11:18 pm
Since this rubbish station was completed last year I have managed to clock up staggering 5 journeys to or from it.
That is less than one trip a month, WHY??. Because I dread ending up in that horrible cold place.
Sometimes I am so tired after the 3 mile yet 35 minute journey that I can barely walk another 30 minutes from the station to get to Chalvey to attend adult education college.
Check out what real commuters are saying about the station in the Slough Express, there is not one week that goes by without someone slagging it off as they want to cry at how the Slough Borough Council blew £12M on a bus station that does not have adequate toilets, useable seats (Ok for resting a small bag on) but not for actually sitting on, plus the buses are not frequent enough or run late enough.
Spokesperson for SBC claim it is iconic, better than the old one etc, however they are highly paid executives that have no empathy for people who need to catch a bus.
Recently 100 elderly folk held a protest in the town centre where they confronted Cllr Swindlehurst. They pointed out how the bus station is woefully inadequate, how they also need more buses and better routes and also how painful it is for an elderly person to stand in the freezing cold. Cllr Swindlehurst has still not addressed the situation.
I am still young but I can confirm the seats are too high to rest on while waiting for the bus you just slide off. Also my 6 year old cannot get on or stay on the sliver of metal they call a seat.
Most of my friends and family do not drive and have to rely on expensive taxis to ensure they can get home after a long day at work.
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