Tubecon Appointed for Central Hall Project at National Railway Museum
Plans have been approved by the City of York’s Council for a new building, called Central Hall, at the National Railway Museum in York. Central Hall will transform this major attraction and herald the start of delivering the York Central development. Graham Construction has been appointed as the main contractor for the £55m project that will link together the museum’s Great Hall and Station Hall buildings.
The new Central Hall will include a welcome space and gallery, and by connecting two of the museums existing buildings, it will act as a cornerstone for their vision to make it a world-class railway museum. The project will include an interactive gallery aimed at getting children interested in engineering, by allowing them to interact and play. Central Hall will also showcase the latest innovations in rail technology and include a café, museum shop, visitor facilities and a flexible events space.
Feilden Fowles designed the new building which takes inspiration from railway architecture of the 19th century. Sustainability was at the heart of the design, with environmentally friendly principles and materials, which are in-keeping with York’s railway history and the area. To reduce the carbon footprint of the building the design minimises the use of concrete and steel, and instead they have adopted a hybrid timber frame structure.
Tubecon have been contracted to design the steel and timber frame structures for the Central Hall Café, Railway Futures Gallery and the Central Hall Drum. The hybrid structure embraces the use of steel and timber to deliver the warm and welcoming buildings. The team at Tubecon have a wealth of knowledge in delivering hybrid structures, working on projects such as the WWF Headquarters in Woking, the Exeter Forum project, the Alnwick Gardens Visitors Centre and the Macallan Distillery in Scotland.
The Central Hall will have transformative benefits for York and the wider region. By improving the offering it will welcome more visitors and inspire children to become engineers in the future.
Central Hall is part of the delivery of York Central, a 45-hectare regeneration site which is a partnership between Network Rail, Homes England, City of York Council and the National Railway Museum.
