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LONDON VICTORIA STATION an analysis of the spatial complexity of the railway concourse.
SHRUTI S SHETTY

Advanced Architectural Studies University College London, UK.

ABSTRACT With the development of the railways, the identity of the railway concourse has changed over the last century. The design of railways stations is one of the most challenging practices and the concourse design must provide for large fluid spaces to facilitate rapid movement. In addition to these, the modern station demands much more from a railway concourse. The National Rail has chalked out the key requirements for every station with Security, Information, Navigation and Facilities as one of the few Basic needs followed by Higher-level needs such as Retail and Catering. In the life of all cities, the railway station plays an important role in the day-to-day life of its citizens and thereby a constant effort has been made to keep up with increasing requirements of the concourse yet maintaining the fluidity of spaces. This report discusses the effect of a concourse layout and its relation with the urban context on the process of ‘navigation’ and ‘way finding’ in the system.

Another aspect of railways stations is the way it fits into the urban system which determines the nature of the concourse and the way people interact with the space. Liverpool street station gives an impression of it being an enclosed public square, accompanied by way finding as an easy process and thereby the fluidity of space is maintained. A contrasting observation is made at Victoria station, where many visits can yet sustain an unfamiliar environment. A comparative between Liverpool street station and Victoria station in this area of study and understanding the integration of the concourses of stations into the urban realm can help understand the reasons for the contrasting behaviour of the two systems. The paper also analyses the location of the Victoria station in the urban fabric of the city and whether it is a determinant of the form and function of the station as a response to the local urban context.

The study aims to bring out certain important features as well as drawbacks of the concourse design at London Victoria as a test for a future of increasing number of users. A study of the surrounding urban area, in terms of its location in the urban grid, land use and façade study can help understand the nature of the local context and serve as a guideline for further improvements to the station and its immediate precinct.

Figure 1: Images of the concourse at London Victoria
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INTRODUCTION The objective of the research, presented in the paper, is to understand the overall factors on the railways concourse that contribute to the success of the design, that is, configuration of the space, the layout of basic and higher requirements and more importantly the fluidity of space. The argument put forth is that the shape of the concourse, layout of facilities or other information and the relation with the external realm together work as a system which encourages or discourages passengers from understanding the concourse whereby they know how to respond to its use. Hillier contends that the ‘intelligibility’ of the building, both internally and with relation to the surrounding area lies in the effect that movement is to be unimpeded especially in emergencies (Hillier et al 1992). Another aspect of the success of the concourse as put forth by Space Syntax studies is the interface with the external public realm and the corresponding movement generated which brings to effect the formation of a ‘live centre’, attributed to the way the concourse is embedded in the urban grid. The building then plays an additional role besides functioning as a transport interchange, and brings forth station users and local pedestrians into a single public ‘interface’ (Hillier et al 1992). In the same light, in a study of Railway termini in central London, Paksukcharern quotes Bertolini and Spit (1998) who contend that a transport node, must occupy significance in a city and that redesign should aim at transforming the current status of a ‘regional-to-local transport nodes’ to function also a ‘local pedestrian node’ (Paksukcharern 2003). This characteristic, which is ideal to the nature of railway terminus, is discussed further in the paper with respect to London Victoria Station. The paper initially examines the historical development of London Victoria Station, which accounts for the configuration of the concourse and its location in London’s urban system which accounts for the success of the interchange. The Built form and the characteristics of the site, its immediate surrounds and the allocation of space to different uses is examined to understand the complicities of the built form towards its immediate environ and are discussed further in the paper. Introduction to London Victoria Station London Victoria station is a successful Transport interchange located in Central London. It is one of the busiest terminals in London. An average of 115 million people use the terminal every year with approximately 300,000 people utilizing the terminal everyday. Statistics provided by the Station authority

states that 80% of the users are passengers while 20% are those using facilities at the station. The Westminster Council predicts a 45%

Figure 2a (left): Location of the Station in the borough of Westminster. 2b (right): Location of the station and its proximity to cardinal streets of London.
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increase in passenger flow by 2020 (From 300,000 people - 500,000 people using the terminus each day) which is a cause of concern as the station observes inconveniences in passenger navigation in the present day situation.

Location London Victoria Station is located in the South-West of Central London, in the borough of Westminster and links the city to the South East of England. It lies to the North of the river Thames with the emerging railway lines spanning the river through to its destinations on the South-East of England. It is within close proximity of Oxford Street to the North and can be well accessed from the South of the river via Vauxhall Bridge. Fig. 2a and 2b show the prime location of the London Victoria station in Central London.

History The history of London Victoria Station showing two phases of development, attributes to the nature of the split concourse seen in present day station. The original London Brighton South Coast Railway (LBSCR) station opened in 1860 and was later demolished and rebuilt in 1906. The London Chatham and Dover Railway (later South East and Chatham Railway, or SECR) station opened on 1862. The two stations were unified in 1924. The Grosvenor hotel, adjacent to the Station opened in 1861 with ownership of the Hotel changing over the years. It

Figure 3: History of the Transport interchange.

was purchased by LBSCR in 1899 and leased to Gordon Hotels. It was later extended in 1907, providing a new frontage building to the station beneath. British Transport Hotels took it over in 1977 but was soon sold to Thistle Hotels in 1983. The Fig. 3 shows the historical transition of the Transport interchange.

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Rebuilding of the station At the start of the twentieth century, both parts of the station were rebuilt with a decent frontage and forecourt, but there was no unification of the two halves. Work on the Brighton side was completed in 1908 and was carried out in red brick; with the Grosvenor Hotel being rebuilt at the same time. The Chatham side, built in Edwardian style with baroque elements was completed in 1909. The two sections were unified in 1924 by removing part of a screen wall and the platforms

were renumbered as an entity. The station was redeveloped internally in the 1980s, with the addition of shops Figure 4: Roads flanking the London Victoria Station

Figure 5: Landuse surrounding the station

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within the concourse, and above the western platforms. The area around the station also became a site for other forms of transport: a bus station in the forecourt; a Coach terminal to the south which is now the terminal for trains serving Gatwick Airport.

London Victoria Transport Interchange The significant location of the station in the urban system contributes to it being a successful interchange between the Coach Station, Bus station, Underground lines (Victoria, Circle and District) and Rail services to South East England. The London Underground station lies to the north of the mainline station across the forecourt of the station which is the Terminus place serving the Victoria, District and Circle Lines. Direct access into the concourse is provided at the North facet of the concourse. The bus station flanks the station on the north and serves the mainline station, the Victoria Coach Station, which lies to the south-west and Greenline Coach Station, which lies to the South of the railway station. Victoria Coach Station is the main London coach terminal and serves all parts of the UK, as well as mainland Europe.

The immediate urban environ The station is flanked on the West by Buckingham Palace Road, on the North by a forecourt which is the Terminus Place, on the South by Eccleston Bridge bridging the railway lines and extending to become Belgrave road. It is bordered on the North-East and east by Wilton road and Hudson Place respectively. Residential buildings dominate the surrounding land use of the station. The surrounding land use also comprises of new commercial developments, an existing public library building, Greenline Coach station, Victoria Coach station, shops which are mainly those such as news agents, travel agents etc. ‘Fountain Square’, which comprises of the Greenline coach station, travel facilities and shopping and offices lies to the South of the station across Eccleston bridge. Fig. 5 shows a diagrammatic representation of the surrounding land use and the nature of the edifice façade. Fig. 6a to Fig. 6g are images showing the nature of the facades of the station and the surrounding environment.

Figure 6a

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Figure 6b

Figure 6c

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Figure 6d

Figure 6e

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Figure 6f

Figure 6g

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The Built form of London Victoria Station The built form of the station comprises of the central

A

concourse space, spanned by two separate roof systems. The concourse is flanked on the West by the Hotel Thistle Victoria and on the North and North East by administrative blocks also forming the front façade of the station building. The ground floor of the Thistle block and the administrative block is mainly occupied by shopping facilities concourse and serving space. catering the The

concourse space is set deep from the external roads. Fig.7 shows the Built form

A
Figure 7: Built form containing the concourse area withins.

Figure 8: Section AA as indicated in Figure 7. bordering the concourse space. To the South of the building, Place, is a to the new the of

Victoria

development Station

comprising

Shopping and Catering facilities. The entry to

Victoria Place is on the South Bridge from with Eccleston a single

escalator entry into the concourse space of the Station thus forming an integral part of the built form of the Station. Fig. 8 Figure 9: Concourse layout and the rail services to the South East.
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shows a section of the relation between the concourse and Victoria place and the prime streets, that they serve. There is also a car park and taxi-park facility on the South side of the concourses and access is provided direct into the Gatwick platforms of the station, as well as into Victoria Place Shopping centre. The paper proceeds to an understanding of the configuration of the concourse and the layout of facilities and shops within to further understand the complexity of navigation and way finding experienced by users.

CONCOURSE: LAYOUT, FACILITIES and SYNTACTIC ANALYSIS The station has been built in two parts with the eastern side (referred to as the Eastern concourse), and the western side (referred to as the Central Concourse). The Eastern Concourse comprises platforms 1-7 and is the terminus for services to Kent, and the Central Concourse comprising platforms 8-19 is the terminus for lines serving Surrey and Sussex, including Gatwick Airport and Brighton. Fig. 9 shows the concourse layout and the

Figure 10: Location of Timetable boards for the split concourses. rail services from the respective concourses. Fig. 10 shows the locations of the Timetable boards for the split concourses. The two concourses are physically separated by a series of arches supporting two separate roof systems and the presence of a central shopping block makes just a pair of arches evident, forming the access route between the two concourses, which are thus physically separated. The concourses are set deep from the streets surrounding the station, shielded by a bordering block of shops, catering facilities, administration, hotel and hotel amenities and facilities for foreign exchange and ATM services. This results in the formation of deep entrances leading to the internal realm of the concourse. Besides the central shopping block comprising shops such as W H Smith and Costa Coffee, there are a number of small shopping kiosks such as Thorntons, Wasabi, Swatch etc.
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dispersed in the concourse space. The central concourse also has seating arrangements, self-ticketing kiosks, telephone stands and information stands dispersed in space. Fig. 11a to 11e shows the configuration of the concourse and examples of shops dispersed in space.

Figure 11a: Shopping kiosks and Central shopping block located on the station concourse

Figure 11b: Ticket counter and Toilet facilities.
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Figure 11c: Café Sit-outs provided in the concourse space

Figure 11d: Central shopping block and other shopping and catering kiosks.
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Figure 11e: Shopping and catering kiosks

Figure 12: Location of entrances feeding the concourse.
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Figure 12: Diagrammatic representation of number of users using the entrances NAVIGATION AND WAY FINDING

Movement Patterns and Spaces of Static Activity Fluidity of space on the station concourse is generally affected by high density of movement coinciding with spaces of static activity, as well as high numbers of new users who being unfamiliar with the space find it difficult to navigate to their required destinations. At London Victoria, Eight entrances feed the concourse space, of which 4 entrances feed the Eastern concourse and the other 4 entrances feed the Central concourse. The Central concourse is also fed by an escalator entry from Victoria Place, and an entry from Thistle Victoria. Fig. 11 shows the locations of entrances feeding the concourses directly with respect to the streets they cater. Movement pattern dominant on the concourse is ‘transport related movement’ from the various entrances directed towards Timetable boards and crowd-movement from platforms exiting towards the entrances. Fig. 12 shows the number of users accessing the station through the different entrances and the corresponding density is expressed in the figure as Red as the Highest to Blue as the Lowest in density flow. Approximately 75% of the users access the concourse from the Terminus Place entrances, with approximately 50% of these users entering from the Underground tube station. The established movement pattern steps far from being linear and this loss of linearity in movement can be considered as a drawback to the concourse design at Victoria. The success of this layout can be contained to the fact that the spaces of movement and static activity rarely coincide except at few locations when crowds gather or queue to access facilities. Fig. 13 shows the movement pattern observed at the London Victoria concourse.

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Figure 13a: Movement pattern observed at the concourse at London Victoria. Comparing the concourse to that of Liverpool Street station, a simple rectangular concourse is observed. The access to the concourse is predominantly from an upper level, and a visitor gets an overall understanding of the space. The location of the timetable board is easily visible from all entrances and the chronology of the platforms is clearly visible between shopping kiosks which contain the visual field to the rectangular concourse. Fig. 13b shows the layout of the concourse at Liverpool Street Station. Two types of movement are observed on

Figure 13b: Movement pattern observed at the Liverpool street Station concourse.

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the Liverpool Street concourse i.e. ‘pedestrian movement’ and ‘transport related movement’. The movement on the concourse is linear. Spaces of static activity are contained under the overhangs of the upper floor (Fig. 13b top right) and along the centre (Fig. 13b – right centre) and movement is directed free of these spaces. The static activity as shown in Figure 14a to 14e are categorized by the nature of the activity observed at the London Victoria concourse. It is observed in Fig. 14a and 14e, that the spaces of static activity of people viewing the time table boards are distinct from the spaces of movement, which at present helps to maintain the fluidity of space largely. The location of the timetable board also is shown to have a significance in containing the area of static activity. In Fig. 14a, (top right and centre right graphic) shows the setback of the Eastern concourse board, creating a defined space of viewing and subsequently an access route is available for around the static activity. This setback is not provided for the board on the Central concourse and thereby a conflicting space of static activity and movement is observed at the junction of the platform and concourse as users stand within close proximity of platform entrances to view the board information.

Static Activity and Integration Core At London Victoria, an observational and configurational analysis finds a relation between the integration core of the combined concourse space and an observed dominant movement. The main static activity occurs off the integration core and thus it does not affect fluidity of space of the concourses at London Victoria. Fig. 19 shows the integration core in different situations. It is observed that the integration core widens marginally in the absence of the central shopping block and other shopping kiosks. Leaving alone the shopping kiosks, it is observed that the central shopping block restricts a possible linear movement into the building with reduces intervisibility between the concourses.

Figure 14a: Location of Static people viewing information boards.
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Figure 14b: Location of static people using facilities on the concourse.

Figure 14c: Location of static people sitting, eating or reading.
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Figure 14d: Location of static people sitting, eating, waiting.

Figure 14e: Locations of static activity and movement patterns on the concourse.
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Way finding and Navigation Another key aspect of successful layout design is 'intelligibility' i.e. how easy is it to find one’s way around. The intelligibility of spaces, both in urban areas and in complex buildings, depends upon the relationship between local visual fields and the global visual network. In situations where what you can see immediately around you gives a good guide to where you are at the larger scale we say that the complex is intelligible. Conversely, where this is not the case people tend to become confused and get lost. The patterns of space that make up an complex architectural system needs to be intelligible if large flows of people are to be moved about with minimum effort whereby in case of emergencies, the presence of stress and potential danger mean that the natural intelligibility of the station complex, particularly in relation to the external streets becomes of paramount importance. (Hillier et al. 1992) The station concourse at London Victoria is a single large space but way finding is a difficult process and efforts are made by authority to assist passengers or users in understanding the layout and thereby navigate the system. This large space is configured to an effect that makes it difficult for the user to comprehend the space.

Figure 15: An observed phenomenon of the concourse.

It is also observed that users find it difficult to grasp the information on the information boards as the board caters to users moving in different directions and one has to stop and orient himself to understand the information provided. Fig. 16a demonstrates an example where users approaching an information board in a diagonal direction have to orient themselves to understand the direction of the underground tube station. The paper proceeds further to understand the factors that make simple spaces seem complex. It is commonly held that the spatial knowledge we use in understanding cities and buildings has three main elements: landmarks, which are visual markers of space, including places; routes, which are remembered paths from origins to destinations; and maps, which are configurational in the sense that they compose the first two into some kind of allocentric picture, or ‘survey’(Hillier 2004). In conjunction to this theory, the analysis of the concourse at Victoria shows considerable lack of these elements wherein there is an Figure 16a: Relation between information boards, movement of users using the boards.

absence of obvious landmarks and linear routes which make it difficult to map the space. Fig. 13 shows the nonlinear nature of movement pattern on the concourse. From a review of spatial studies carried out at Space
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Syntax, it has been inferred that the absence or presence of linear relations between spaces is the key factor as to why some kinds of layouts seem much harder to learn than others. Changing linear relations, even marginally, gives rise to changes in the statistical properties of space, and this seems to connect to how ‘intelligible’ people find them (Hillier 2004). What we see as the behavior of the system, object or event is that which is afforded or permitted by the system, object or event. When the affordances of an object are perceptually obvious, it is easy for us to know how to interact with it. Conversely, when the affordances are less obvious or ambiguous, it is easy for us to make mistakes when trying to interact with the object. (Dieberger 1994, 2000). A ``cognitive map'' is a map that is created in the mind to represent a wider area. By using the cognitive map for information about how the environment is arranged, a subject can make decisions about where they are and where they should go in order to complete a task. It can be argued that the lack of ‘obvious affordances’, available at the Station Concourse at London Victoria makes it difficult to build a simple cognitive map of the space and thereby users find it difficult to interact with the space. This obscurity lies in the spatial configuration accompanied by the effect of a number of other variables such as clarity of figure background, directional differentiation, motion awareness and the absence of landmarks, all as described by Lynch (Dieberger 1994, 2000). The complexity of displayed information in the concourse space causes obscurity of the figure background, due to innumerable advertising by shops located in other visual fields. In the case of Liverpool street station, the shopping arcade of retail and catering (Fig 16b) gains in the economy

Figure 16b: Location of shops in separate visual fields on the Victoria concourse leading to complex display of advertising and information throughout the surfaces of the concourse (top right). Location of shopping centre out of visual field of the concourse at Liverpool street station (bottom right). of a pedestrian movement through the concourse and thus the concourse space is free of a responsibility towards the success of their economy.
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Figure 17: Visual fields of users entering into the Eastern Concourse, indicating where users cease to comprehend their location on the concourse.

Figure 18: Visual fields of users entering into the Central Concourse, indicating where users cease to comprehend their location on the concourse.
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The layout is also questioned as to whether the shopping kiosks and the central block contribute to the effect. Fig. 19 shows the integration core analyzed in different situations of layouts. The analysis shows that the

integration core widens considerably in the absence of the central shopping block and further only marginally by removing the other shopping and catering kiosks dispersed in space. In effect, the presence of the central block significantly reduces the potential of linear movement into the building as shown in Figure 20a and it reduces the inter-visibility between the concourses making it a difficult space to comprehend, as users are unaware of the existence of others sections of the concourse and that of different timetable boards which cater to them.

Figure 19: Integration core of the space as analyzed in different layouts of shopping.

Figure 20a (left): Obstruction of linear movement, 20b (right): Obstruction of inter-visibility between concourses
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Besides, the effect of a number of variables as discussed above on the process of navigation and way finding, the relation of the concourse with the external public realm plays an important role in the determining the nature of the concourse and the way users interact with it. In emergencies, the presence of stress and potential danger mean that the natural intelligibility of the station complex, particularly in relation to the external streets becomes of paramount importance. In these situations, the correspondence between what you can see and where you might go is the key to making a complex either intelligible or maze like. Fig 17,18, show the visual fields of people entering the concourse where a person gets lost in space if a destination is not visible in two consecutive fields of vision. Fig 24 shows the presence of deep entrances where a person inhabiting the internal space has no visual cue of the surrounding streets. Space Syntax research on railway concourses proposes that a station should be more, than just a transport interchange. It should play a role in the public life of the area in line with a building (Hillier et al. 1992). To understand the potential of a concourse in playing a role in the public life, the paper further examines the relation of the concourse with the external realm and uses the ‘urban square’ as a metaphor for understanding the same. The comparative is based on the significant findings of a study conducted and published by Dr. Beatriz Campos on 12 urban squares of London.

S Y N T A C T I C A N A L Y S I S:

T H E EX T E ND E D P U B L I C R E A L M

A significant aspect of railways stations is the way it is embedded into the urban system and how it amalgamates with the external public realm. Liverpool station gives an impression of it being an enclosed public square, way finding is an easy process and the fluidity of space is maintained. A contrasting observation is made at Victoria station, it being disconnected from the external streets and way finding in the building is observed to be difficult. Space Syntax studies reveal two types of movement on the Liverpool Street Station concourse which are ‘local pedestrian movement’ and ‘transport related movement’ whereas in London Victoria station, only a ‘transport related movement’ is observed. The studies on Railway concourses advocate that the success of the concourse interface relies on the degree to which the internal concourse spaces of the station ‘integrate’ with the external street spaces of the surrounding area. A comparative between Liverpool street station and Victoria station in this area of study can help understand the reasons for the contrasting behaviour of the two systems. The performance of both the concourses, with respect to the movements and interaction generated is compared to the performance of squares, a study conducted by Dr. Beatriz Arruda Campos on the public squares of London. Dr. Arruda Campos contends that, often public areas either in housing estates, housing developments or
SQUARE NEW DEVEPT. NO. OF STATIC PEOPLE LEVEL OF ENCLOSURE QUALITY OF STREET FURNITURE NO OF AXIAL LINES FINSBURY AV. SQUARE EXCHANGE SQUARE YES GOOD HIGH GOOD 7 12.0337 24.7218 YES YES GOOD HIGH GOOD 6 9.6194 19.1725 YES SUM GLOBAL INTEGRATION VALUES SUM R3 INTEGRATION VALUES CATERING FACILITIES

Fig 21: Factors considered for the performance of public squares. simply urban areas of public domain are relegated to become more of a no-go area than a lively urban space; where other areas, perhaps not planned to work as “public squares” seem to incorporate all the necessary elements to become a popular place. Do station concourses, in a similar way, incorporate the necessary elements to become an extended part of the ‘public realm’?
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In

Dr.

Arruda study as Spaces:

Campos’ published ‘Strategic

Patterns of Use in Public Spaces of

the City of London’, an analysis of 12 public squares is The

discussed.

study incorporated enclosed squares

as well as those with visual with extensive connection surroundings.

Properties such as enclosure, catering facilities and quality Figure 22a: Location of London Victoria station in the axial map of London.

of street furniture were taken into consideration including syntax elements such as levels of integration into the urban grid and the proximity to major axial connectors. Fig. 21 shows the features of two squares whose performance in terms of static use by the people was observed to be notable as compared to other squares in the study. The study refutes the theory cited by theorists such as Zucker, Unwin and others, that the property of enclosure

Figure 22b: Location of Paddington station in the axial map of London. is the fundamental property determining the success of an urban place. Her study also proves that the public houses and wine bars do not effect as major attractors for public use. A fundamental finding is that the degree to which the public space is embedded in the urban fabric is the most important property as a predictor for their
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level of performance (Arruda Campos 1997); for example the success of the Broadgate development is attributed to the way the public space is integrated in the grid at local level, at the same owing to the proximity of major axial connectors of the City. In the light of the study conducted by Dr. Arruda Campos, as well as the theory of Natural Movement, an analysis of the location of London’s stations is put forth to understand the varied performances of the concourse noted in the likes of Liverpool Street Station, Waterloo Station and London Victoria Station and how the spatial characteristics of the urban fabric assist in their performance as ‘live spaces’.

Figure 22c: Location of Euston station, St. Pancras and Kings Cross station in the axial map of London.

Figure 22d: Location of Liverpool street station in the axial map of London.

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Figure 22e: Summary of location of stations in the axial map of London, proximity of major axial connectors and values.

Figure 23: Axial lines traversing the concourse space at Liverpool street station and Waterloo station and proximity of major axial connectors.

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Figure 24: Nature of the features observed at London Victoria concourse and surrounds.

An important element of success depends upon the degree to which the station complexes and their forecourts knit themselves into local patterns of pedestrian activity and movement. In the sense that stations bring these types of movement together then they also act as important meeting grounds for the different public constituencies in the area (Hillier et al. 1992). Figures 22a to 22d show the locations of some of London’s prime stations in the axial map of London. Figure 22a distinctly shows a striking difference in the spatial characteristic of the urban fabric surrounding the London Victoria station as against those of the other stations. In the case of Euston, the concourses is set back from the main movement spaces in the city, generating a mono-functional uses of space and antisocial problems that are associated with these (Hillier et al. 1992). In the case of London Victoria Station, the station is situated off the integration core of the city whereas most stations are within the proximity of a major axial connector. The concourse is physically separated from the external streets and exhibits lack of pedestrian movement through the space. On the contary, the concourse layout at Liverpool street station and Waterloo station have the necessary elements which embed their concourses as part of the external realm i.e. the proximity of a major axial connector, a number of axial lines traversing the concourse space thereby facilitating pedestrian movement in addition to transport related movement through the concourse space. Looking at the local urban context into which London Victoria is embedded, the predominant land use is residential. The station and other built forms around as seen in Fig 24 shield themselves from the external urban fabric. Though, earlier studies contend that when a station seems to cut itself off from use by users other than its passengers, it is likely to be seen as more of a burden on the local community than a contributor to it. In this light, further discussed is the role of London Victoria station in response to the local community.
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THE

IMMEDIATE URBAN

ENVIRON

As observed in Figure 22e, London Victoria station is set off the integration core of the city. It is suggested that the significant central location as well as its location off the main integration core set apart from other stations may have facilitated the expansion of the station into a successful transport interchange.

Figure 25: Booth map of 1889-1899

Figure 26: Drift of surrounding land use since 1930

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Another observed phenomenon as illustrated in Fig. 24 is the nature of the entrances to the concourse, the façade of the station and the surrounding landuse, and the nature of shop frontage. It is observed that the concourse at London Victoria and that of the Coach Station are enclosed and shielded away from the external public realm facilitating no active interface with the external public realm. The facades of new commercial setups lack transparency, Shop fronts lack active frontage or are set away from the street by an arcade as shown in Fig. 24. It can be argued in this case that the location in the urban system may be a determinant of the form and public interface of these various buildings and set-ups. Though the station cuts itself off from use other than by passengers, facilitated by the nature of the built form, the form in alliance with others illustrated earlier seem to respond to its local urban land use with an aim to restrict the drift of land use that can be caused otherwise. Though, the station concourse does not serve many users other than passengers, the built form of the station incorporates the shopping precinct of Victoria Place, the success of which is attributed to the contribution by high number of users accessing the interchange, and to the location of the station covering 1.2kms of radius of streets at 3 step depths away from the surrounding streets. Hillier’s ideas of a successful urban place depends on natural movement, owed to the configuration of the urban grid whereby movement from all parts to all the others in an urban area if facilitated, where attractors and generators of movement are homogenously diffused throughout the system, making some parts vibrant and some parts quiet (Hillier et al 1993, Paksukcharern 2003). The pattern of natural movement, thus determined by the urban grid subsequently influences the land use patterns by attracting movement-seeking uses, such as retail to locations of high natural movement while drawing non-movement seeking uses such as residential uses, to location with low natural movement. Hillier called this the movement economy. The movement attractors then attract movement-seeking uses, creating multiplier effects which result in an urban pattern with dense mixed use areas set against other more homogenous, mainly residential zones in the low natural movement area (Hillier 1996a, Paksukcharern 2003). This phenomenon explains the nature of the landuse surrounding London Victoria and thephenomnon observed and demonstrated in Fig. 24. The railway terminus, defined as ‘a point attractor’, attracts and generating a large amount of movement toward it regardless of the grid configuration (Paksukcharern 2003). This thereby causes a drift of surrounding land use overtime. To determine the drift of the land-use that has occurred over the years around London Victoria, a reference to the booth map of 1889 is considered. Fig. 25 shows the nature of the surrounding land use as being predominantly residential with Red indicating occupancy by middle class, well to do families and Yellow by the affluent. Though the land use immediate to the station has changed over the years, with a number of residential land-use drifting to commercial uses as seen in Fig. 26, there seems to be an adopted nature to the façade of the recent developments (Fig. 24) in response to the environment it is located in. A question arises as to whether the location of London Victoria in the urban context will continue to determine the nature of the station concourse, interface with the external realm and increased pedestrian movement and restrict the further developments from making it a ‘live centre’, an essential quality to be exhibited by all station concourses. While further

developments to the station design aim at re-engineering the station to work as a ‘live centre’, one must also take into consideration, the effect on altering land use of surrounding areas causing a domino-effect on anti-social behaviour and safety to passengers. The current scenario observes that the drift of residential land-use to commercial causes the formation of un-constituted stretches of street space where mutual surveillance and visual control over the street is reduced drastically. Many commuters who use these streets to access the railway station, the coach station, bus station and underground tube traverse long stretches to un-constituted and unsurveilled streets and are therefore vulnerable to crime, especially theft. The present day situation itself leaves a number of users feeling insecure during late hours of the day to access the facilities of the interchange as low pedestrian movement is accompanied by low surveillance of streets. Developers looking into improvements
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should therefore consider the effect of any design decisions, where changes to spatial variables causes insecurity to users and the local community.

CONCLUSION This paper set out to examine the features of the concourse at London Victoria Station that make simple spaces appear difficult to comprehend. From the analysis, the concourse owes its success to the effect of maintaining the spaces of movement and spaces of static activity apart to a great extent. However, the absence of linear movement in and out of the concourse spaces will cause obstruction to fluidity of movement at times of increasing passenger flow and during times of stress. The lack of inter-visibility between the split concourses obstructs knowledge of the existence of two other sections of the concourse and most passengers request for assistance to guide them to their destination. An obscurity of figure background is due to similar facets to the concourse sections and the complex display of information and advertising and one cannot orient himself in space to understand which direction he should proceed in to get to other sections of the concourse. This difficulty in orienting oneself in space is also due to the detachment of the concourse from the external realm, effected by deep entrances and solid facets, which as proven is a key guiding factor to help in cognizing space. Another striking drawback to the concourse, assumed prior to the study in comparison to the likes of Liverpool street station and Waterloo station is the role played by the concourse in presenting itself as an integral part of the external public realm. The study shows that the nature of the location of the concourse in the axial map of London determines its performance as seen in public squares and facilitates a secondary pedestrian movement, one that is estranged at the London Victoria Concourse. Analysing the nature of the immediate environment of the London Victoria Station, it is found that though the land-use is affected over time with residential schemes altering to commercial setups, the adopted nature to the building facades, shopping typology and passive shop frontage seem to disconnect internal spaces from the external realm and as part of the movement economy. Any development to the station must not neglect the characteristic location of London Victoria in the urban context as any change can bring about significant changes to the surrounding local context.

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REFERENCES Arruda Campos, B., 1997, Strategic Spaces: Patterns of Use in Public Spaces of the City of London, Proceedings of the 1st International Space Syntax Symposium London 1997. Arruda Campos, B., 1999, All that meets the eye: Overlapping Isovists as a tool for understanding preferable location of static people, Proceedings of the 2nd International Space Syntax Symposium Brazilia 1999. Arruda Campos and Stonor, T., 2001, RACMIT: Case Study 1- Victoria Station: Report on the Space Syntax Study. Dieberger, A., 1994, 2000, Navigation in Textual Environments using a City Metaphor. Edward, B., 1997, The Modern Station, New Approaches to railway architecture, 1997. Hillier, B., 2004, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FROM HERE – questions and conjectures about spatial cognition from a ‘syntactic’ point of view. Hillier, B., 1996, Cities as movement economies, Urban Design International Hillier, B. et al., 1993, Natural movement: or, configuration and attraction in urban pedestrian movement, Environment and Planning B, 20(1): 29-66. Hillier, B. et al., 1992, The kings cross project: A study of passenger behaviour, with regard to the alternative proposals for the new concourse building. Holder. J, Parissien. S, 2004, The Architecture of British Transport in the Twentieth Century. Kim Y., 2001, The role of spatial configuration in spatial cognition, Proceeding of the Third Space Syntax Symposium, Atlanta 2001. Penn, A., 2001, Space Syntax and Spatial Cognition Or why the axial line?, Proceedings of the 3rd International Space Syntax Symposium Atlanta 2001. Paksukcharern, K., 2003, NODE and PLACE: A study on the spatial process of railway terminus area redevelopment in Central London, Unpublished Theses, University College London.

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