Tottenham Court Road

The most significant addition to the London transport network in recent times, the new Elizabeth line is improving the commuting experience for millions of local people and visitors to London and the Southeast. Described as the ‘gateway to the West End’, there has been a station at Tottenham Court Road since the middle of 1900.

Client: Crossrail
Architect: Hawkins Brown
Duration: Complete
Location: London

Glass Reinforced Concrete
Grannazzocem terrazzo
Stainless-steel supports
Internal Tiling
Precast Concrete
Brick on Precast Concrete

Use of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA)
Use of digital technology
12,500m² Glass Reinforced Concrete cladding
6,350m² Terrazzo flooring
1,750m² Terrazzo skirting

Vetter UK are privileged to have worked on many extraordinary projects across the UK and are immensely proud to have played a significant part in the construction of such a special piece of infrastructure contributing to our nation’s-built environment.

Our team were responsible for the installation of 2,000m² of precast concrete panel cladding and brick faced panels to the external envelope of two blocks and the escalator wall of Tottenham Court Road, in addition to the installation of 23,000m² of glass reinforced concrete cladding, 12,700m² of terrazzo flooring and 3,500m of terrazzo skirting, and the primary stainless-steel supports to the platforms, tunnels and escalator linings of both Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street stations. Complex double curved cladding panels were manufactured and installed to the tightest of tolerances and the highest quality of workmanship.

The use of digital technology and our group design for manufacture and assembly approach were key to the successful delivery of such a large and complex project. One of the major challenges faced by our team was the restricted headroom underground preventing the use of conventional methods and cranes. The installation of the tusk substructures around major node crossover points was especially challenging due to the size and weight of the panels being up to 5 tonnes. We used the 3D modelled space to try and envisage the right way to undertake this task which resulted in a standardised subframe being run throughout.

With no access and severe restrictions on headspace, the installation of the internal escalator wall was one of the most difficult and complex challenges that our site team had to undertake. Following a significant amount of planning and discussion, our team were able to find a suitable and most importantly safe solution. With the use of a hoist system, 200mm holes were opened in the concrete slab above, chains were fed through the hole to the panels which were lifted and installed using an electric hoist. Our teams above and underground controlled the whole operation using radios throughout, with a spider crane utilised for the installation of the panels at the bottom of the escalator.