A13

Location: A13 Road, East London
Client: Highways Agency
Year: 1994-1995
Value: £11.5million

The A13 is a major arterial road in London’s East End. However traffic flow is seriously constricted and the Highways Agency plans to enlarge its capacity and BPR were asked to give the civil engineering work a more humane and architectural quality.

The existing road already divides the community - an area of industrial decay that was once a leading centre of shipbuilding and included the great docks which formed the transport hub of the British Empire. The design increases the capacity of the A13 with 2 new flyovers and an underpass. Significantly it also reconnects the severed halves of the community with a series of landmark footbridges. The impact of the road is further ameliorated by environmental barriers. The new elements are articulated as sculptural fragments reflecting and celebrating the area’s proud industrial history.