#6 Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Bus Station

Architects: Grimshaw architects

Location: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK

International architecture practice Grimshaw architects won a Stoke-on-Trent City Council competition in 2010 to design the city centre bus station with its functional and urbane design.

Image: © Jim Stephenson

Situated on the outskirts of the city centre alongside the ring road, Grimshaw drew inspiration from the surrounding landscape and personality of the Hanley location.

The bus station ticks the boxes for efficiency and style, ensuring foot traffic and vehicles can flow easily throughout the structure, while presenting an icon for the city with its sweeping rooftop. A timber soffit encourages a warm welcome to station users.

Image: © Jim Stephenson

Around the building's perimeter Grimshaw has used a huge amount of Staffordshire blue brick to form geometric patterns that twist and slip around each other in a varied relationship. In combination with the Carlow limestone flooring, they represent the underlying coal seams and clay which drove Hanley's industrial growth, said the practice.

Image: © Jim Stephenson

Main image: © Jim Stephenson