Waterloo City Square

In January 2009, DSDHA won first prize in a international competition to redesign the public realm around the nationally-significant area of Waterloo Station, an area defined by the 'Bull Ring', the result of post-war planning that prioritised the car, and which subsequently become a gathering space for the homeless since the late 1980s.

Our proposal reconnects the station with the cultural quarter of the Southbank, creating an identifiable entrance to the area for local residents, tourists and commuters, and a new fully accessible route to replace the existing labyrinth of subterranean routes. A continuous line of cultural and commercial activity extends from The Cut, through Waterloo Circus to the Thames at Theatre Square.

The BFI IMAX is given a new street level entrance and visible connections are carved through the site to give presence and identity to each of the buildings addressing Waterloo Circus. Existing streetscapes have been decluttered, with new crossings and a unified surface creating unhindered and safe access to all transport modes and destinations from the river to the Old Vic Theatre.