Bath Spa Bus Station

By building a new transit center that does not resort to pastiche, Bath reclaims its tradition as a patron of the best architecture of the day.

By Charles Linn, FAIA

Bath’s thermal springs made it a gathering point for humankind well before the arrival of the Romans, who built baths there in 43 A.D. Over the ensuing centuries, wealthy patrons brought some of the U.K.’s most talented architects to the area, and the town they built is so beloved, it has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Program

But Bath’s magnetism is also its curse. Gridlock is not uncommon, as cars and hourly rail service hurtle hundreds of visitors into town every day, and the bustling service economy that accommodates them is made possible by bus-borne commuters. Traffic flowing from its late-1950s-era bus station contributed to the congestion, which a few years ago was about to be exacerbated by the addition of a new shopping mall.

Solution

Wilkinson Eyre Architects was hired by the mall’s developer to create a master plan to alleviate these traffic problems and to design new structures that would be worthy of the town’s great tradition. The first phase replaced the old bus depot with a new one squeezed into a narrow site. It is bounded on the south by the Avon River; on the north by Dorchester Street, the last traffic way between the historic district and the river; and by the train station to the east.

The bus station is composed of two major elements, a four-story glass cylinder (dubbed “the busometer” by locals) that anchors the west end of the building, and a two-story passenger concourse to the east. The taller part of the structure houses the ticketing center, offices, and a café and lockers for the bus operators. Its glass facades are shaded by rows of horizontal aluminum louvers. This distinctive element is visible from three streets and is useful in providing orientation for visitors. Passengers wait for buses inside a two-story-high glass concourse that is accessed by sliding doors that open onto Dorchester Street. The architects have broken up the scale of this long room by dividing it into 16 parts (one for each bus bay), using mullions, paving patterns, and ceiling beams. The architects live up to their reputation for detailing projects to the nines here, as the design, proportions, and position of every component have been completely thought out. For example, the overhang that protects the concourse tapers to an almost supernaturally thin edge, where its built-in gutters and downspouts are completely invisible.

The next phase includes the redevelopment of the train station (designed by the renowned Isambard Kingdom Brunel, architect of London’s Paddington Station), which will begin this year and include the addition of a civic plaza, improved parking, restaurants, and shops.

Commentary

The desire to protect the character of places such as Bath engenders fierce loyalty to the past, and this project’s Modern appearance was not easy for people to accept. In the fray, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that transitions from one architectural period to another have always seemed as radical as this one. Bath owes a debt to the planners who approved the transit center’s design for realizing that clinging to the past yields denuded pastiche that won’t fool even the uninitiated. With this building, and Nicholas Grimshaw’s Thermae Bath Spa, the town sets its sights on a new era in design that someday will also be staunchly defended.

Owner: Southgate Limited Partnership

Gross square footage: 13,000 sq. ft.

Location: Dorchester Street, Bath Spa, Somerset, UK

Cost: £12.5 million

Completion date: June 2009

Architect:
Wilkinson Eyre Architects
24 Britton Street, London EC1M 5UA
T: +44 (0) 20 7608 7900
F: +44 (0) 20 7608 7901

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