Architecture studio Grimshaw has revealed its latest barn-shaped ventilation shaft that will be built near Chalfont St Giles in the Chilterns as part of the UK's HS2 high-speed railway.
Designed as the partner to the Chalfont St Peter ventilation shaft, which was also designed by Grimshaw, the headhouse building for the shaft will be disguised as barn to lessen its impact on the surrounding countryside.
As with the shafts at Chalfont St Peter, Little Missenden and Amersham, the Chalfont St Giles shaft will provide ventilation to a 10-mile-long tunnel that is being built for High Speed 2 (HS2) under the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The Chalfont St Giles ventilation shaft will be disguised as a barn
Set within a fold in the Chiltern hills near the village of Chalfont St Giles to the north-west of London, the shaft will be topped by several structures designed by Grimshaw to resemble a grouping of agricultural buildings. Clad in pre-weathered grey zinc, the single-storey main headhouse will have a form similar to a barn. Its cladding will be contrasted with bronze coloured gable ends and doors.
It is being built in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Alongside the main building, a transformer substation and ventilation outlet with single-pitched roofs will also be clad in zinc.
The whole fenced grouping will be built on a blue brick base.
The buildings will be clad in weathered zinc
The group of buildings along with access hatches wi...