Thames Hub Project by foster + partners

The Thames Hub project is a bold new approach to future infrastructure development in Britain. It brings together rail, freight logistics, aviation, energy and its transmission,flood protection and regional development.

It is unique for its scale and strategic cross-sector thinking. Recognising the synergies between these different strands, it reaps the benefits of their integration.

The project includes a new orbital rail link around London, which would connect with a future high-speed rail line from London to the cities of the Midlands and the North, opening up a direct connection to continental Europe. This would create an unrivalled freight distribution network and put Britain at the centre of manufacturing distribution, as well as releasing pressure from roads and commuter services. A new international airport located in the Thames Estuary on the Isle of Grain would benefit from these new linkages. Establishing the proposed aviation hub in the South East would satisfy the capacity needed today and allow for future expansion, while reducing the environmental and security problems of aircraft over-flying London.

Major new distribution networks for power, utilities and data are needed across the UK, without adding visual clutter to the rural landscape. This is where integration delivers environmental as well as economic benefits. The Spine offers a pioneering new solution, drawing on landscape traditions. It will incorporate data cabling, water and energy distribution routes, integrated with the rail and road network in conduits in the ground, invisible in the landscape, simple to maintain and easy to secure. A new flood barrier in the Thames Estuary is also a necessity, but has the potential to deliver other comprehensive improvements, while securing London’s future flood protection: it can alleviate housing shortages by creating new flood protected land for residential development; it can provide a platform for an integrated rail and road crossing to open up new trade routes between the UK and Europe; it can generate renewable energy from tidal flows; and it can bridge the Estuary to create a vital new corridor for utilities, communications and data.

Lord Foster, chairman and founder of Foster + Partners, hopes that his grand vision will significantly improve Britain’s capacities, freeing congestion and streamlining links between Britain and the rest of the world. The architect seeks to face the challenges of our time with the same bold outlook as his forebears who were driven to implement sweeping social and technological changes in light of the industrial revolution. Britain in particular was renowned for its history of innovative and ambitious engineering during the 19th century.

The new estuary airport will be capable of handling 150 passengers a year, allowing the UK to retain its global aviation hub status. The airport is integrated within a logistics matrix that connects the surrounding ports by rail. exploiting railway construction allows for the bundling of utilities into a single corridor delivering the world's first national smart distribution network. improving the connectivity between the north and south of england will open new trade advancement for the UK to the europe.

                                                                                                                 All Images © foster + partners

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