The award-winning York Handmade Brick Company supplied 100,000 bricks to London Bridge Station, the runner-up in this year’s prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture.
London Bridge, one of Britain's busiest railway stations, reopened in 2017 after a redevelopment that cost £1billion and took five years to complete.
The RIBA Stirling Prize jury praised the station’s "voluminous spaces and impressive new concourse, which had significantly improved the experience of those who use it daily".
The Times newspaper, which supported London Bridge Station in its bid to win the Stirling Prize, wrote a leading article extolling the “stunning redevelopment which restored London bricks and archways to their former glory and washed commuters in natural light”.
York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, also supplied 100,000 bricks for London Bridge Place, a superb new office and retail development, next door to the station. Together the contracts were worth £250,000 and the company have created special bricks called Autumn Sunset and London Stock for the two projects.
David Armitage, the chairman of York Handmade, the leading independent brickmaker in the north of England, commented: “We are honoured and humbled to have played a part in London Bridge Station coming so close to winning the Stirling Prize, the most prestigious award in the architectural world.
“The whole station development is absolutely stunning – and sets the bar incredibly high for future station redevelopments and restorations. This contract, together our work at London Bridge Place, has really put York Handmade on the map. Our ability to produce attractive bespoke bricks to order means we are now on the radar of influential architects and builders across the country.
“They follow on from our work on the nearby Shard, arguably the most iconic modern building in the whole of London. It is fantastic that a Yorkshire company should have played a significant role in the acclaimed regeneration of the London Bridge area, which is now a commercial and residential hotspot,” he added.
Since work began in 2013, London Bridge has been transformed by Network Rail as part of the government-sponsored Thameslink Programme, while remaining open for the 50 million passengers that use London’s oldest station each year. The vast new concourse, larger than the pitch at Wembley, unites all fifteen platforms for the first time and modern facilities make the landmark station fully accessible for all.
Other high-profile projects carried out in London by York Handmade include Highbury Stadium, Carmelite House and Highgate School.
He added: “Our acclaimed work in London means that our reputation as a premier brick supplier in the capital for both residential and commercial developments is gathering its own momentum. Our work on the Shard led to the prestigious London Bridge commissions, for example, so the future looks bright.”