Birmingham New Street Grand Central Shopping Mall

Grand Central’s Stunning ETFE Atrium

New Street is the busiest railway station in the United Kingdom, outside London. As part of an on-going scheme to rejuvenate the city of Birmingham, the existing New Street station has been completely redeveloped and an additional section was added to meet the demands of 52 million rail passengers each year. Situated above New Street station is the Grand Central shopping center, which opened in September 2015. The center brings high-quality brands and fashion into the heart of the city. To provide a better experience for the people who shop at the center, as well as the people who work there, Vector Foiltec installed a large Texlon^® ETFE atrium roof. The atrium is unlike any other, featuring unique design concepts in order to deliver functionality and aesthetics.

Adding an atria over buildings in general, especially on a large scale such as this one, can be difficult and challenging. But having 35+ years of experience in installing ETFE atriums, we successfully developed the initial concept.

Texlon^® ETFE and Unique Design Concepts

Working closely with the client, architect, and engineers to develop the initial concept, we designed, fabricated and installed 2,830 m² of Texlon^® ETFE. Furthermore, we installed the supporting steelwork for the station’s central atrium. Designed by the renowned AZPML (Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Maider Llaguno Architecture), the central ETFE atrium’s supporting steelwork mirrors the shape of the complex arrangement of train track points outside the station.

The large atrium is topped by seven domed skylights with a translucent Texlon^® ETFE system. The curving aesthetic from the outside is continued into the interior. The Texlon^® ETFE system is equipped with a partial print pattern that provides shading for optimized climate control while still retaining transparency. As a result, the overall effect allows the central area of Birmingham New Street station to be flooded with natural light.