Britain's aviation hub

Britain’s Airport Hub

The issue of the UK’s aviation crisis is hot in the Government, the media and society. Heathrow cannot cope with the predicted increase of flights - from 140 million passengers to 400 million by 2050. So the debate for a plan needs to be made quickly. On the 17^th December, the Airport’s Commission shortlisted its three options for expanding the UK’s aviation capacity. These are; adding a third runway to Heathrow, lengthening an existing runway at Heathrow and building a new runway at Gatwick. The Commission also stated that they have not ruled out the possibility of the construction of a new runway in the Thames Estuary.

 

Expanding Heathrow is a strongly opposed option because the large airport already has 5 terminals and 2 runways with proposals of any expansion immediately opposed by locals. However building a new hub would decrease the use of Heathrow and not only lose the business money but also cause tens of thousands of people to lose their jobs. Another arguing case against the expansion of Heathrow is that by the time a third runway is built (estimated 2030) there would be a demand for a fourth runway.

A Thames Estuary Airport has been proposed for decades but nothing has progressed due to environmental concerns for bird species. Ideas range from runways built on artificial islands which would be connected by shuttles to the mainland terminals and then railways into London and to the Channel Tunnel.

However, another Thames airport idea is Sir Norman Foster’s Thames Hub Airport which would be built on reclaimed land and would involve a new Thames tidal barrier which would provide greater flooding protection and tidal energy.

In July, Foster + Partners submitted the final proposal for the Thames Estuary airport. These plans not only outline the 4 runway airport but also the new and much needed Thames flood barrier, and the transport links. The proposal is quite staggering due to the amount of infrastructure that is needed but really the UK’s railways are already well organised so would not need drastic developments.

The proposal for the construction of this new airport is the realisation that to secure Britain’s future economy, their global supply chains needs to be expanded. With the construction of additional runways at London’s main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick facing strong opposition, building a 4 runway one by the Thames Estuary is seen to be the favoured proposal for increasing British international trade and travel connections. The new 4 runway airport will quadruple the flight destinations to Asia and the Americas, and will service 110 million passengers a year.

The airport proposal has been submitted with high speed rail connections to London’s main stations and to other British cities. As well as linking to the nearby motorways such as the M25. The construction will also include the building of a new Thames flood barrier. With the current one needing to be rebuilt to guarantee London’s embankments’ safety, the Thames airport construction fits well with the design.

 

Foster + Partners success with many other high scale designs such as the Beijing airport makes me even more supportive of the Thames transportation hub because it not only is the best solution for the British trade economy but also as the firm is normal very efficient with delivering successful, beautiful designs.

by Tim Spears

To London, from New York... or should I say from Paris

The proposed final phases of New York’s internationally renown High Line is for a secluded bowl shaped structure. This further development will increase the High Line from West 30th Street to West 34th Street, and the extension is rightfully gratified so that it can continue to offer an area of tranquillity in such a busy city.

The High Line’s extension will provide further rare and valuable calmness, peacefulness and serenity to the pedestrians of New York. The proposed “Green Bowl” developed by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, immerses the people into a completely natural environment as most of Manhattan’s skyline will be blocked out by the surrounding wildlife. This offers people a place that they can relax and escape from the normal hustle and bustle of the city’s streets.

   

Image by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, courtesy of Designboom.

Yes, New York does have plenty of parks, between 1,700 and 1,800 according to The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, but they are all level and often surrounded by streets full of traffic. What makes the High Line so special is that it allows people to escape from this and either relax or walk to work through a wildlife area. This is why the development has such a big interest from cities all around the world. Most notable and exciting for me is the proposed “Garden Bridge” by Thomas Heatherwick which would feature a park over the River Thames in London.

The Garden Bridge is at the beginning of its planning and aims to offer pedestrians a unique and unparalleled view of London from the river Thames.  The combination of Thomas Heatherwick’s design team and Joanna Lumley came up with this pedestrian only, park bridge and needs a lot of planning work for it to succeed. In spite of this, I do believe it can succeed and the reasons for the bridge are vast, the only limitation is whether it is possible. There is no doubt however, that the High Line was their source of inspiration as it aims to offer people a calm, chilled way of crossing the river.

  

Photos from Dezeen.

You could say that New York’s High Line is revolutionary and pioneering as it has been the catalyst for similar projects being designed in cities across the world. However, to an extent that would be a false claim as many of you may not know that the High Line was inspired by Paris’ Promenade Plantée.

Completed in 1993, the Promenade Plantée or Coulée Vert is an elevated park developed on top of an old and unused railway line. This sounds very similar to the High Line, which poses the question how come the Promenade Plantée did not kick start equivalent projects in other cities like the High Line has? Maybe the situation of the Coulée Vert is not in the busy part of Paris, maybe the city is not as busy as New York or maybe it is the different culture of Parisians that cause the park to be less of an attraction. Whatever the reason may be, the Promenade Plantée did not grab the environmental departments of the world’s cities.

  Images courtesy of Eurotrips.

This brings me back to my previous point that you could claim New York’s High Line is pioneering in the attraction of green areas in cities. The Promenade Plantée may have inspired the development but the High Line is inspiring the modern developments across the globe. The development scheme has prompted similar parks already such as; the Bloomingdale Trail (Chicago, USA), the Reading Viaduct (Philadelphia,  USA) and Maidashi Ryokuchi (Fukuoka, Japan). As well as prompting extremely exciting, future developments such as the Garden Bridge (London, UK) and the very interesting Low Line (Manhattan, New York).

The High Line is a fantastic development that is a continuous success. It has provided the people of New York a relaxed, fun and therapeutic way to travel around the city. There is no doubt that the success of this scheme has prompting similar redevelopment projects in cities around the United States and across the world. However, we all need to remember and admire the Promenade Plantée for its innovative and ingenious project that is shaping the future landscapes of our cities.

By Tim Spears