Foster created his plan with Halcrow, the Bureau of Infrastructure Specialists; all participants worked on it "at their own expense." In his opinion, if the area around London and the entire southeast of Britain is not renewed now, the country may irreparably lag behind in the international "competition" and be unprepared for future changes and possible difficulties (for example, the rise in sea level).
The project is designed for 50 years (until 2060), its budget is about 50 billion pounds, but the estimated income for the economy will be 150 billion. In addition, some of its aspects, for example, the flood protection system, will be quite workable in the 22nd century.
What prompted Foster to this venture? The Thames Estuary (called the Thames Gateway) has long been regarded as the (only) possible space for the expansion of the London metropolitan area. The growing population, the role of the city as a political, economic, informational, transport center - not only on a European, but on a global scale - requires modernization and expansion of outdated infrastructure, construction of new housing, etc. At the same time, the entire southeast of the country it is very densely populated, there are practically no unoccupied territories left. The only option left is the land around the estuary, which, among other problems, is prone to flooding. During normal high tide, the water level in this part of the river there rises by 4 m, and floods are a very serious problem.
Foster proposes to move the barrier of defenses downstream almost to the sea; this barrier can be used as a multifunctional crossing of the river, as well as to generate electricity using the energy of the surf. Thus, a huge area along the river will become suitable for building, which is very important - by 2033 the population of London will grow by 28%, and these people will need housing.
Behind the barrier, on the Hu Peninsula and Grain Island off the North Sea coast, it is proposed to build a new airport (Hub Airport) with 4 runways 4 km long each (however, this idea was already roughly developed before Foster). He will be able to use the energy of the tides (providing himself with electricity for 100%). With an annual capacity of 150 million passengers, the hub will be twice the size of Heathrow, which has now reached its maximum size.
The new airport will be located half on bulk land; planes will land from the side of the sea, so there will be no restrictions on flights over populated areas, and he will be able to receive and send flights 24 hours a day. Moreover, with the transfer of a share of Heathrow's functions to Hub Airport, the 5 million people currently living on the air routes leading there will be freed from significant noise pollution. The railway terminal will provide full communication with London (travel time to the city center will be half an hour with a distance of 55 km) and all regions of Britain, while Heathrow is poorly accessible for passengers arriving from outside the capital; a special line for freight trains will be built.
Britain's role as an international center of trade is now threatened by the congestion of airports, seaports, railways and road networks. In addition to the Hub Airport, a new cargo seaport will be built at the mouth. Railways and highways are now not doing their job, because they all depend on London as the main transport hub.
If you create a ring transport system Orbital Rail around it, it will be possible to quickly deliver goods from the port and airport to any point in the country, for example, seaports, depending on their specialization - for further shipment to Asia, America, etc. In addition, all transport lines will be used as part of the power system. The speed of passenger trains there will reach 350 km / h. From this ring it is possible to lay a powerful, also high-speed "pivot" to the north of England, delivering goods, energy, information there - this will bring the lagging northern regions closer to the national level of development even more effectively. Moreover, this ring will become a key link in the pan-European railway network - through the tunnel under the English Channel; freight and passenger traffic to Europe and in the opposite direction could be significantly increased.
The innovation and potential effectiveness of the Foster program lies in its integrated approach. Transport, housing, economic, energy problems are solved at the same time, environmental features are taken into account (a method is proposed that exceeds the loss of compensation for any damage to the ecosystem). All levels of the future renewed infrastructure have been thought out - from regional to local. For example, most transport lines will be buried and hidden behind embankments to avoid visual and noise pollution; in parallel with railways and highways, a network of pedestrian and bicycle roads will be created for residents of new districts and existing settlements.
Norman Foster emphasized that it is necessary to emulate the "foresight and political courage" of the creators of the 19th century transport infrastructure, which in many ways still serves us today. His plan is unprecedented in scale, but the architect believes that Britain now has no choice but to implement it, otherwise it will soon become uncompetitive in a changing world.
N. F.
