Infrastructure Projects

Selected Infrastructure Projects

As well as creating innovative and landmark schemes in urban
regeneration, commercial and cultural projects, John Lyall and his
practice have always designed the architecture of infrastructure
alongside engineers and specialist contractors. These engineering
driven projects range from rail stations, to bridges, floating piers,
and pumping stations.

John Lyall Architects’ design work celebrates the way the function
and engineering requirements help to establish the form of these
buildings.

The buildings often have to work hard (the daily flow of the public
through stations for example), and last a long time. The practice
prides itself in contributing designs which are eminently practical,
durable and attractive in the urban or rural context.

— John Lyall

3

2
4
Pumping Station Locations:

1 Pudding Mill Lane
1
2 Old Ford
3 Stratford Box
4 Old Ford Water Treatment

Olympic Park Pumping Stations

John Lyall Architects are proud of our involvement with the
Olympic Project – we are the designers of the Primary Foul
Pumping Station at Pudding Mill Lane, and have designed
three other pumping stations on the Olympic Park for
Thames Water.

Because of their important location, all of these projects
needed to be produced with the highest quality of design.
They are of course functional buildings though, and in
each case the engineering has been celebrated. Working
closely with the project engineers John Lyall Architects have
designed buildings where form is strongly influenced by
function.

John Lyall Architects Ltd. · 13 – 19 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3LT, UK
phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325
mail@johnlyallarchitects.com · www.johnlyallarchitects.com

Pudding Mill Lane Pumping Station

The circular shape of the building, which originates from the
simple yet powerful form of the underground shaft, resulted
from the desire to reflect the functional aspects of the
engineering.

Pudding Mill Lane is one of the essential utility facilities for
the London Olympics 2012. It is a ‘primary foul pumping sta-
tion’, connecting the new sewer system serving the Olympic
Park to the existing Northern Outfall Sewer.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325


For a positive contribution to the public realm, visual interest
is created through the integration of a form of public art
into the design: the pre-cast concrete panels of the outer
wall are pigmented and some of them are cast with a relief
pattern. This pattern has been taken from Joseph Bazal-
gette’s original Victorian engineering drawings for the
nearby Abbey Mills Pumping Station.


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Pudding Mill Lane lies at one of the important new entrances
to the Olympic Park. During the Summer and Paralympic
Games many people will pass by; but afterwards the building
will remain for many decades as this large revitalised area
of London develops into a new community. The building will
be hard wearing and long lasting, but with its decorative
engraved surface will also appeal to future users of the area.

The glowing lantern at the top of the stack will improve
way-finding for people arriving at the new Crossrail station
immediately behind.


phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325


The mass of the patterned concrete perimeter wall is given
relief by the inclusion of flush black metal mesh panels,
allowing glimpses into the operational yard behind.


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Operational since January 2010, Pudding Mill Lane was the
second building to be completed for the London Olympics.
The project - built by Barhale Construction - was selected for
the Royal Academy Summer show, as well as the exhibition
‘50 Years of London Architecture 1960-2010’.


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The building has clearly defined public / private spaces, but
the boundary is deliberately transparent. Inquisitive members
of the public will see station equipment highlighted in bold
Olympic logo pink.


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Perception of the finely engraved concrete surface changes
depending on the position of the viewer, as well as the lighting
and even the weather conditions. The strong curve of the
building means that there is always one part of the pattern
which can be read. Because the pavement runs right up to
the building facade, the passing public can experience the
full tactile qualities of this ‘public art’.


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Crossness Enhanced Digestion Plant

An imaginative cluster of flat roof-forms is created in
response to the functional activities inside the building, and
ordered by the three main lateral zones. These forms are
punctuated by large panels of ventilation louvers, and more
noticeably by areas of glazing immediately below the roof-line.

The Crossness Enhanced Digestion Plant is a sludge cake
storage and de-watering facility. The building houses the
final stages of a process which renders sewage sludge into
fertiliser cake. The cake is stored in the building before being
freely distribution to farm fields as fertiliser - providing a
valuable and sustainable use for what was once considered
‘waste’.

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The building has a dense and exciting composition of
rectangular walls and corners, with peaks and troughs of cast
glass and etched concrete. The massing is intended to give
a controlled, mannered and timeless expression to what is a
large and important building on the river Thames.

‘waste’.

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The building is divided into three distinct zones running
parallel to each other, in the direction of loading-vehicle
movement. Parts of each zone have a first floor level, housing
controls and machinery. The ground level walls are robust to
withstand the activities of diggers which load the cake onto
trucks.

‘waste’.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Old Ford Water Treatment

The choice of timber cladding, stone gabions and extensive
green roof will enhance the biodiversity of the site by extend-
ing habitats. The materials are also inherently sustainable
themselves.

The Old Ford Water Treatment facility will take mixed storm
and foul water from the Northern Outfall sewer and by a
process of filtration produce ‘grey water’. This will supply
non-potable water to a number of buildings and venues
throughout the Olympics - providing a sustainable water
source for Thames Water and the Games.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Old Ford Water Treatment

Old Ford is a small protected woodland situated just 150m
from the Olympic Stadium. As with all of the buildings
designed by John Lyall Architects around the Olympic site, the
scheme has a simple modesty appropriate to its location,
which does not try to compete with its more famous
architectural neighbours.

The Old Ford Water Treatment facility will take mixed storm
and foul water from the Northern Outfall sewer and by a
process of filtration produce ‘grey water’. This will supply
non-potable water to a number of buildings and venues
throughout the Olympics - providing a sustainable water
source for Thames Water and the Games.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Old Ford Pumping Station

Old Ford is an existing protected woodland – a secluded,
quiet environment. The buildings have been designed as a
series of objects in a small clearing – visitors to the site
and passers-by on the greenway will glimpse the intriguing
cubes through the trees.

This is the first of two new pumping stations for Thames
Water, both of which started construction on site in 2010. The
projects have similar objectives, recovering ground water
for use during times of drought. Old Ford is located at the
edge of the Olympic park, immediately to the south west of
the stadium and adjacent to the greenway.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Old Ford Pumping Station

The project is conceived as a collection of perfect cubes
in patinated Corten Steel – each housing the various
engineering components – arranged around the well access
space – itself clad in Corten but with a fine decorative
pattern cut into it.

This is the first of two new pumping stations for Thames
for use during times of drought. Old Ford is located at the
edge of the Olympic park, immediately to the south west of
the stadium and adjacent to the greenway.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Stratford Box Pumping Station

Stratford Box pumping station sits at the centre of the Olympic
Park, alongside an existing balancing pond, a sensitive and
important nature conservation site.

The Olympic Stadium lies to the South while to the North is
‘Stratford Box’ – a large concrete structure recessed into the
landscape which encloses the railway tracks from Kings
Cross as they emerge from the ground.

To retain its structural integrity, millions of litres of water per
day are pumped out of the surrounding ground, and this
project will recover this otherwise wasted resource. The
engineering elements are brought together in a design
which preserves and enhances the character of the
surrounding open space, and which also compliments the
appearance and function of the wider Olympic project in
both Games and legacy modes.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325


Stratford Box pumping station sits at the centre of the Olympic
Park, alongside an existing balancing pond, a sensitive and
important nature conservation site.

This is the second of two new pumping stations for Thames
for use during times of drought.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325


The engineering components of the Stratford Box pumping
station are housed within interconnected brick volumes,
varying in scale and nestling into the landscape.

This is the second of two new pumping stations for Thames
for use during times of drought.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Wick Lane Pumping Station

The Wick Lane pumping station is part of Thames Water’s
wider policy to improve the drainage infrastructure.

Under current conditions during heavy rainfall, the sewage
system in the Wick Lane area has to over-flow directly into
the River Lea. The station will prevent this from occurring by
drawing water-up into the Joseph Bazalgette designed North
London Outfall Sewer, from which it can be discharged into
treatment works.

The pump station will house two large Archimedian Screws,
an engine room and a sub-station. The site is located
prominently on the entrance to the Greenway. The building
forms an entrance to the Greenway and in response to
this, is made up of a series of repetitive sculptural shapes.
It also responds to the demanding technical brief and will
be constructed from robust materials designed for 100
years or more.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

North Greenwich Underground Station

“North Greenwich is as purposeful and functional a station
as any on the line. Yet it has a quality – a sense of delight –
which goes beyond the functional.”
—Ken Powell, The Jubilee Line Extension

One of 12 new underground stations designed by prominent
architects for the Jubilee Line Extension Constructed in a
“trench” 15 metres deep and over 200 metres long in a
contaminated industrial land on the Greenwich Peninsula,
the azure-blue mosaic clad station opened to great acclaim
in 1997 and was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 1999. It
also featured in the exhibition 50 Years of London Architec-
ture 1960-2010.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325


“The architects were able to capitalize on the benefits offered
by the clear site to produce a station impressive not only for
its scale but equally for its expressive and dramatic detail
and virtuoso use of materials”

ture 1960-2010.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325


“At North Greenwich, you find the millennium version of the
transport interchanges built on the Piccadilly Line in the
1930’s. The difference is that the architects have created an
interchange with all the presence and excitement of a
regional airport. This is regeneration in earnest.”

ture 1960-2010.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Tottenham Hale Overground Station

“This must be one of the most unusual railway buildings of
all time, a kind of organic engineering structure that is as
friendly as it is functional.”
—Jonathan Glancey, The Independent

With the opening of Stansted Airport, Tottenham Hale
became an important interchange for the Victoria Line tube
and overground express service to London. The scheme
links a new important station a “cathedral of glass”– with
a re-invented underground station. Dynamic light and water
structures enliven the forecourt where buses and taxis
connect. Collaborating artist: Bruce McLean

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Tottenham Hale Overground Station

“It is the combination of high efficiency, determined
enforcement of a concise design strategy and considerate
approach to the needs of the users that makes Tottenham
Hale station so successful as a public utility. By making
something that is much more than a mechanistic interchange
the architects have provided a lesson for the planners of
this suburban crossroads.”
—Tony Meadows, Architecture Today

With the opening of Stansted Airport, Tottenham Hale
became an important interchange for the Victoria Line tube
and overground express service to London. The scheme
links a new important station a “cathedral of glass”– with
a re-invented underground station. Dynamic light and water
structures enliven the forecourt where buses and taxis
connect. Collaborating artist: Bruce McLean

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Lifting Bridge, Canary Wharf

This elegant, but robust, infrastructure building was
designed to house the machinery which powers a new lifting
bridge at Canary Wharf, London. The silver painted steel-
clad building also features a small, but visible, control room
for the operating personnel. Designed with engineers
Mott MacDonald, the building nicknamed “the-chicken” has
become a small, but much loved architectural feature in
London’s Docklands.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

Floating Fire Station, Lambeth

The fire fighting pier is located on the Thames opposite the
Houses of Parliament. It acts as a base for the various fire
crews which are out on the river constantly over 24 hours.
The floating pontoon provides docking space for the fire
tender boats, and an operational centre, together with mess
facilities for the crew.

The pier was designed with engineers Parkman Buck,
constructed at a shipyard in Aberystwyth and towed along
the English Channel, up the Thames and moored finally
by Lambeth Bridge.

phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

John Lyall Architects Ltd.
13 –19 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3LT, United Kingdom
phone +44 (0)20 7375 3324 · fax +44 (0)20 7375 3325

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