Vauxhall Cross

Located on an isolated road-island location, Vauxhall Cross forges a link with recent residential developments along the Thames and Vauxhall Station.

Two towers rise out of an ‘urban forest’; a densely planted winter garden where tall trees grow beneath a 20m high timber-framed glazed canopy. Mezzanines allow people to sit and eat between the tree-trunks at ground level and among the branches above. Cafes, bars, restaurants and shops will surround the ground floors of the towers, with access to the first floor mezzanines.

The towers, thirty-one and forty-one storeys respectively, will be orientated in significant directions. The taller of the two will act as a landmark for Vauxhall, marking the transport interchange at its foot and looking out towards the South Bank and West End. The shorter tower will serve as a local landmark linking Vauxhall to the river. Their chamfered summits make these directions legible, clarifying the towers’ landmark roles.