The Marylebone Road underpass in central London has been transformed by infrastructure services company, FM Conway, into a vibrant, walk-through experience that showcases the area’s rich local history and cultural attractions to passers-by.
The scheme to renovate the underpass – which connects the southern and northern sides of the busy A501, Marylebone Road – was commissioned last year by the Baker Street Quarter Partnership, a local Business Improvement District (BID), and supported by funding from Transport for London (TfL) and contributions from Westminster City Council.
A previously dark and neglected space, the underpass suffered from misuse and repeated anti-social behaviour and was avoided by pedestrians.
The concept behind the renovation was to turn the underpass into a ‘Wonderpass’; a bright, welcoming space that would support the local community and encourage visitors to make use of this safer, alternative crossing.
Part encyclopedia part gallery, the underpass’s colourful new design – created by participatory arts group Sing London – now encourages locals and visitors to linger and learn about the local area, featuring trivia and a timeline of facts about Baker Street.
Five ‘Cabinets of Curiosity’, which are to be updated on a regular basis, line the underpass walls showcasing nearby cultural destinations such as Madame Tussauds, the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and The Wallace Collection.
FM Conway – commissioned to bring the new design to life – faced a number of challenges throughout the construction works.
Following the discovery of a defect in the original flooring of the section of the underpass running through Baker Street Tube station, strengthening work had to be performed to make the floor of the underpass safe before works could progress.
FM Conway worked alongside WSP, the structural engineers for the scheme, to reinforce the floor, which had been rendered structurally unsound due to a hole that had been cut into one of the concrete beams for drainage purposes.
With the site located close to a busy A-road, the team also had to take extra care when making deliveries for the specialist materials for the scheme to the site depot.
Once the strengthening work to the flooring had been completed, FM Conway applied new floor resin, repainted the ceiling of the underpass and installed the bespoke red and white wall panels commissioned for the redesign.
Safe accessibility for pedestrians remained a key concern throughout the project. FM Conway installed new treads and glass reinforced plastic (GRP) anti-slip nosings to the underpass steps and new handrails which meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Members of the public visiting the pub at the southern end of the underpass had often placed empty glasses on the underpass’s old square-topped handrails, which then fell into the underpass. The new handrails chosen for the redesign were circular to discourage this.
As part of the redesign, the FM Conway lighting team also designed and installed a new, energy efficient LED lighting system to replace the existing fluorescent lights.
David McNeill, director of public affairs and stakeholder engagement at TfL, and Penny Alexander, chief executive of the Baker Street Quarter Partnership, officially opened the new Wonderpass to the public on 29 January, to great acclaim.
Penny Alexander commented on the scheme’s success: “The transformation of the Marylebone Road underpass has been remarkable. The Wonderpass has become an attraction in its own right.
'It provides an excellent blueprint for other areas looking to turn their unloved underpasses into cultural hubs that bring together the best of the local community.'
Adam Barnes is contracts manager at FM Conway
