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London rail commuters will soon be able to see a striking example of modern timber engineering at Abbey Wood Crossrail station. Keren Fallwell reports
Such is the eye-catching nature of the timber roof at the new Abbey Wood station, passengers may need to allow extra time to catch their train.
The exterior glulam beams above the south-east London station entrance are a hint of the vast timber roof that can be fully appreciated in the ticket hall. It is a striking contrast to the usual palette of materials in the UK's railway stations and it's bound to attract attention.
The station is the south-east terminus of London's Crossrail project and one of 10 new buildings on the 40-station Elizabeth line.
It is also the second of the new stations to showcase a glulam roof. Canary Wharf station, designed by Foster + Partners, features a glulam gridshell roof. At Abbey Wood, however, timber is more dominant. Here the freeform roof structure and columns are composed of single and double-curved glulam, cross-laminated timber (CLT) and steel. Austrian engineered timber specialist Wiehag GmbH designed, manufactured and installed the structures for both stations.
Fraké cladding is a feature on the exterior.
Network Rail senior programme manager Peter Hume said architectural practice Fereday Pollard was given "free range" to develop a design, although the materials did have to meet a 120-year life expectancy.
Fereday Pollard decided timber fitted the bill.
"The materials needed to be timeless so they look as good in 100 years as they do from day one," said Fereday Pollard director Jan Kroes, adding that it was also important to create a crafted station.
"The large glulam roof provides a nice warm interior," he said.
Fraké was chosen for the exterior cladding because it is...