Client: South West Trains
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Value: £4,000,000

SWT Winchester

South West Trains has a commitment to provide additional parking spaces across its station portfolio in order to comply with franchise obligations. Following a number of option appraisal studies, Winchester station was identified as a suitable location.

The design creates an additional 200 parking spaces by constructing two decks above an existing surface level car park.
The car park will be split level utilizing the existing layout, a remnant from when the site was once railway sidings.

The site is well enclosed on two sides by mature trees, all of which are either in the Winchester Conservation Area or are part of a group Tree Preservation Order. Consequently the proposals accommodate extensive root protection zones and overhanging canopies. The resulting design has a terraced structure to avoid the canopies and a cantilevered frame to avoid the roots.

Although the site is well screened by the trees and also by the railway itself, it was agreed in consultations early in the design process that the building would be an important gateway to the city for rail visitors and should be modern and well considered.

The bulk of the building has been located close to the existing station to reduce the visual impact and is clad in brick, some patterned in recessed and proud vertical bands, to give it a human scale and strong texture. The parking areas are clad in stainless steel mesh to make them light but strong and also to give the building a shimmer when passed by trains.