Brent Cross West Station
A biophilic gateway at Brent Cross West Station
Brent Cross, London
Gillespies delivered the landscape design at Brent Cross West Station, creating a vibrant, biophilic arrival space with integrated green infrastructure.
A new benchmark for biophilic transport design
Brent Cross West is London’s first new mainline station in over a decade, a key component of the Thameslink route and a transformative part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration.
The project draws on the design ethos of the wider masterplan, ensuring sustainability and biophilia are part of a unique and strong green arrival experience. Designed as more than just a transit hub, the station sets a new benchmark in biophilic design, urban greening and landscape-led placemaking, redefining how people enter and engage with public transport.
Working closely with the design team, we have delivered a biophilic strategy that blends large-scale greening with the stations architectural form. The design moves beyond traditional entrances defined by doors and barriers, creating a more fluid, welcoming threshold immersed in planting.
Over 100m² of vertical greening, 55m² of ground-level planting, and four feature trees, including a striking Ginkgo biloba, bring year-round foliage and vibrant seasonal interest to the station’s arrival experience.
Suspended planters cascade with greenery, while tensile wires support evergreen climbers such as Trachelospermum jasminoides, Holboellia coriacea, and Clematis armandii, drawing the eye upward to the 13-metre-high roof canopy. At ground level, shade-tolerant ornamental species and flowering understory plants, including Amelanchier trees known for their spring blossom and rich autumn colour, enhance both user experience and site biodiversity. The architectural Ginkgo biloba stands as a focal point, marking the gateway into the station.
This lush, layered planting scheme supports the broader environmental and biodiversity strategy for Brent Cross, transforming the station into a green and welcoming urban threshold.
With direct rail links to Luton and Gatwick airports, Eurostar services from St Pancras, and major destinations like Brighton, Brent Cross West is expected to serve over 2 million passengers in its first year, growing to 5 million annually by 2031.
Gillespies is leading the landscape strategy and public realm masterplan for Brent Cross Town, alongside detailed landscape design for multiple development plots across Phase 1 and Phase 2 of this major regeneration scheme.
Project details
Title
Brent Cross West Station
Client
Argent Related
Status
Complete
Project team
Studio Egret West, shedkm, Heyne Tillett Steel, Atelier Ten, OFR, FMDC
Gillespies team
Armel Mourgue, Patrick Conn, Adam Knight