{"id":27380,"date":"2020-08-18T16:08:13","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T15:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=27380"},"modified":"2020-08-17T17:47:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T16:47:36","slug":"hs2-to-hide-tunnel-vent-shafts-with-country-barns-in-chilterns-but-not-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=27380","title":{"rendered":"HS2 to hide tunnel vent shafts with ‘country barns’ in Chilterns, but not London"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The rail project\u2019s treatment of an area to hide tunnel vent shafts with \u2018country barns\u2019 in the Chilterns contrasts with that of council estate in inner London.<\/h3>\n

image: The Guardian – HS2<\/em><\/h6>\n

<\/p>\n

The Guardian<\/em> writes:<\/p>\n

HS2<\/a>\u00a0is planning to build tunnel vent shaft \u201cheadhouses\u201d in the Chilterns disguised as barns to help appease local opposition to the high-speed rail line.<\/p>\n

Ministers had long since caved to demands for extra tunnelling so that the line should run underground for most of its passage through the picturesque Chiltern hills. Now, for the few overground structures the tunnel requires, HS2 has unveiled a design that owes more to a farmyard than a railway.<\/p>\n

Despite\u00a0concerns over the estimated \u00a3100bn cost of HS2<\/a>, the company engaged the architects Grimshaw \u2013 veterans of the Eden Project and the Oman botanical gardens \u2013 to come up with a bespoke building to fit into the local landscape.<\/p>\n

The headhouse building at the top of the 60-metre ventilation and emergency access shaft at Chalfont St Peter – the first of four such buildings needed for the 10-mile tunnel – will be a single-storey block \u201ctaking its inspiration from the style of local barns \u2026 wrapped in a simple pre-weathered grey zinc roof with doors and vent openings picked out in dark bronze\u201d, according to HS2.<\/p>\n

Diane Metcalfe, an associate principal at Grimshaw, said the shaft had been \u201csensitively designed to complement the rural character\u201d, adding: \u201cThe pitched roof, zinc-clad buildings are a modern interpretation of the local agricultural and industrial vernacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

The buildings will be surrounded by mature trees and fresh saplings to help them blend in, along with bird boxes, reptile basking banks, and a \u201cgrass snake laying heap\u201d to help encourage wildlife.<\/p>\n

The design was drawn up with input from local residents and the design will now be put out to public consultation.<\/p>\n

Rohan Perin of HS2 said: \u201cOnce construction is complete, the headhouse at Chalfont St Peter will be one of very few structures of the Chiltern tunnels that will be visible to residents living nearby. That\u2019s why it\u2019s critical that we get the design right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not all neighbours appear to have been treated quite so well by HS2, with remaining residents of a council estate in Camden \u2013 where the majority of actual home demolitions have taken place \u2013\u00a0appealing to be rehoused<\/a>\u00a0because of extreme noise, dust and pollution from work that has continued during lockdown.<\/p>\n

The route through the Chilterns was one of the most controversial parts of the design of HS2, passing through an area of outstanding natural beauty and a host of Conservative constituencies. Early plans were quickly revised to extend tunnelling in the region, at a cost of an extra \u00a3500m.<\/p>\n

The government gave\u00a0formal notice in April<\/a>\u00a0to proceed with construction of the first phase of Hs2, linking London and Birmingham.\u00a0Go-ahead for the entire project<\/a>\u00a0was only confirmed in February by the prime minister after a review to examine its scope and mounting costs.<\/p>\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rail project\u2019s treatment of an area to hide tunnel vent shafts with \u2018country barns\u2019 in the Chilterns contrasts with that of council estate in inner London. image: The Guardian – HS2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27382,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27380\/revisions\/27382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}