Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras Station
King’s Cross, 1851. Architect: Lewis Cubitt
St Pancras, 1868. Architects: William Henry Barlow (station engineer) & George Gilbert Scott (hotel and station architect)
These world-famous London stations are better looked at together, even if they each represent important architectural and engineering feats in their own right. The temptation of regarding them in comparison to each other is almost irresistible: they were built less than twenty years apart, for the same purpose, and they stand next to each other. They even face us at just the right angle so that we only have to tilt our heads in order to change our gaze from one to the other.
The temptation of regarding them in comparison to each other is almost irresistible
If we begin to analyse the two structures from the inside out, we will realise that the buildings are almost twins. A large central nave dominates the section in both cases with a single semi-circular profile. This shape allows the trains the space they need to circulate while preventing the fumes that are produced by the engines – or rather did so in the past – to gather at platform level.
King’s Cross Station and St. Pancras were built less than 20 years apart
St. Pancras Station Arcade, designed by William Henry Barlow and George Gilbert Scott
St. Pancras Station’s exterior was designed alongside with an Italian Gothic hotel facade
Their differences, however, become apparent through their facades… the two of them representing fundamentally opposite ways to conceive architecture. On the one hand, we have the straightforward, form-follows-function, facade of King’s Cross: a direct reflection of its interior that allows us to understand the building’s inner workings at a glance. On the other, we have the intricate brickwork of St. Pancras: a beautiful addition to the city that detaches the use of the building from its aesthetic with its grand, Italian Gothic hotel facade.
After spending a few minutes familiarising ourselves with Kings Cross and St Pancras, we are left with an important question on our minds: is ornament more beautiful than sincerity? We can apply this debate to design, but also to relationships and to our own personal way of seeing life. As we continue to walk along the city, however, we will soon realise that this is a question that continues to divide architects more than 150 years later.
