Opened in late 2016, the West Croydon Bus Station in London has won several awards, including the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) London Award in 2017 and the RIBA 2017 London Project Architect of the Year honor for its architect, Martin Erickson. Composite materials are a key part of this building, which is owned by Transport for London (TFL), the agency responsible for London’s buses, trains, trams and taxis.
Kalwall produced the 2¾-inch-thick translucent composite sandwich panels that form the building’s canopy. The pieces of the panels – including the support grids between the panes, the proprietary fiberglass used for the top and bottom faces, and proprietary resin applied along the gridlines – were assembled into a mechanical locking grid. The panels, composed of many different sized rectangles, triangles, trapezoids and other shapes, were then processed in heat and pressure ovens, cross linking the faces with the structural grid core.
The canopy of the award-winning West Croydon Bus Station in London features translucent composite sandwich panels from Kalwall. Photo Credit: Kalwall
“This was not a standard project; it was a highly crafted canopy,” says Amy Keller, Kalwall principal and vice president for international sales. “Parts of the building were very difficult because the detailing was tricky. We had to work very carefully on water management and interfaces with the structure.”
Martin Erickson chose the structural composite panels because he wanted to rejuvenate a run-down, very high-volume bus station and they presented an affordable way to do it, says Keller.
“Using [the panels] brought many advantages and benefits in relation to their lightweight yet strong structural qualities,” says Erickson in a statement on Kalwall’s website. “It has helped enhance daylight transfer and protects from sun glare whilst reducing hotspots and solar gain. The material’s soft translucent qualities contrast beautifully with the building’s warmth and texture, providing a sheltered waiting environment with the added advantage of low-maintenance and high performance.”
Low maintenance was important, since the West Croydon bus station serves 23,000 passengers traveling on 25 different bus routes each day, leaving little time for crews to clean it. Unlike glass, the translucent panels don’t show bird droppings or other dirt. “The panels are also very rugged, so they are vandal-proof and man-safe as well,” says Keller.
TFL has been so pleased with the performance and relatively low cost of the panels that designs for at least two future bus stations will feature them.
