Dean Nicholas
Former Railway Station To Become Café
A proposal to build a modern café in the former entranceway to
Blackfriars Road station, across the road from Southwark tube, has
won planning permission.Glas Architects knocked up this design, which encases a three-metre wide section underneath the archway in glulam frame and etched glass. Complying with requests by Southwark council to respect the station's original features, the proposal offers views of the recently restored rear wall and displays the defunct station's signage. A mezzanine level, seen to the left of the pic, will also allow glimpses into the original entranceway, which last saw passenger traffic in the 19th centuryThe architects are now working on a construction schedule for the café, which is tentatively named Arch 88. Find out more about the short history of Blackfriars Road station over at
Abandoned Stations
.
Last Updated 31 July 2009
I passed this 'station' daily for a year, now just once a month (moved office) and always wondered why the frontage was never demolished as so many other stations/building are. So building a cafe there is a good use for the site. It'll be interesting to see how it ends up.
It's even more remarkable the frontage and signage survived when you consider that the station was only in operation for five years and closed in the 1860s.
I don't like the glass design at all - why obscure the brilliantly restored signage? Great spot for a cafe though.
Surely if they used a non-transparent material for the cafe the signage would be totally obscured to anybody on the outside? I think this is a brilliant solution, and hope that it does go ahead as planned.
No, I imagined the cafe was inside.
It's a great idea to do something with this but I have reservations with the design: the artist's impression makes the glass wall quite opaque. I hope it's only an the visual.
It is also a rather odd place to have a cafe. it's not nice under that bridge. On the bright side, I suppose they will get trade from the tourists going to and coming back from Tate.
What an absolutely great and unique idea!
Ugh. They took the time, trouble and money to restore the frontage of the old station, only to now have it covered up by some poncey cafe? Are there not enough cafes in London already? Actually I'm surprised its not being turned into a Starbucks. Still, I think restored buildings like this should remain in full view as an historical reminder. The more of these things get covered up, the more it gets lost to history. Very sad.