'Energy and infrastructure autumn 2025' forum at Grimshaw, London

Above: CGI view - back of HS2 Curzon Street Station, Birmingham (Grimshaw)

Future Cities Forum is delighted to be hosted by Grimshaw at its London studio for an 'Energy and Infrastructure autumn 2025' forum. The discussion event will consider the latest UK government thinking and investment in energy and infrastructure projects and will draw research from infrastructure operators, planners, investors, developers, engineers and architects.

Alister Kratt, Director, LDA Design will be speaking at the event. He is a director specialising in large, multidisciplinary projects and development in sensitive contexts. He leads LDA Design’s energy and infrastructure teams with expertise in nuclear, wave and tidal, EfW and port sectors. He is a landscape architect and masterplanner with significant experience in project leadership including DCO and EIA.

Alister sits on the HS2 Design Review Panel and the Design Commission for Wales (DCfW). He is an experienced expert witness, an author on best practice and a regular speaker on design and landscape matters.

He is an advisor on nationally significant infrastructure and development projects including most recently, Sizewell C nuclear power station, the redevelopment of HS2’s Euston Station, major settlement expansion in Northamptonshire and is advising on the future growth of Oxford.

On the latest announcement around investment in Sizewell C, the UK overnment has said:

'Millions of working people will benefit from cheaper clean power, as the government agrees a landmark, multi-billion-pound deal to build Sizewell C – a major step forward in the delivery of a new ‘golden age’ of nuclear under the government’s Plan for Change. 

'The Energy Secretary has today (22 July) signed the final investment decision for Sizewell C, which will deliver clean power for the equivalent of 6 million homes and support 10,000 jobs once operational. The deal represents the country’s most significant public investment in clean, homegrown energy this century - in a major boost for energy security, jobs and economic growth.  

'The deal ends an era of dithering and delay to give Sizewell C the go-ahead, that will help secure Britain’s home-grown nuclear supply far beyond 2030. It marks a major step in the government’s clean energy superpower mission, which is about replacing the UK’s dependence on fossil fuel markets with clean homegrown power that the country controls, to bring down bills for good and protect family finances. 

'The plant will deliver cheaper clean electricity for generations of families for at least 6 decades. Analysis shows the project could create savings of £2 billion a year across the future low-carbon electricity system once operational - leading to cheaper power for consumers. 

'The project will also help to kick-start economic growth and get Britain building. At peak construction, Sizewell C will support 10,000 jobs directly employed in the project, and thousands more in the nationwide supply chain, as well as creating 1,500 apprenticeships. Seventy per cent of the value of construction is set to be awarded to British businesses - Sizewell C Ltd anticipates it will have 3,500 UK companies in its supply chain across the entire country.

The BBC wrote last week that plans might be revived for further extensions of HS2. It stated:

'Manufacturing companies have called for plans for a high-speed rail line reaching Leeds and Manchester to be resurrected in a major strategic investment in the rail network.

'Plans for the northern leg of HS2 were scrapped by the Conservative government in October 2023, with then prime minister Rishi Sunak saying this would save £36bn to invest in other transport projects.

'A poll of 200 manufacturing firms by Make UK and Barclays Corporate Banking found nine in 10 believed the original high-speed line should still go ahead to increase passenger numbers and free up capacity for rail freight on existing lines.

'A similar number said there should be greater investment in faster connections between Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Hull and Newcastle.'

The UK government has also just announced NISTA’s new interactive Pipeline website which sets out 780 planned projects including transport, energy, schools and hospitals. Construction firms, the Government says:

'This Infrastructure Pipeline will provide real time updates on 780 planned private and public sector projects, giving industry the clarity needed to plan for the long term and creating good quality jobs and supply chain capacity necessary to deliver the government’s infrastructure ambitions and the Plan for Change. It will support our modern Industrial Strategy, boosting business investment and driving growth across the country.

'Building on data from 40 government departments, public bodies and regulated businesses, the new interactive online tool provides details of around 780 public and privately led infrastructure projects under construction, in development, or at an early stage of planning including transport, energy, schools and hospitals.

'The pipeline outlines £530 billion of projects and programmes over the next ten years, which includes £285 billion funded solely by the public sector.

'It comes as the government announced last month at least £725 billion of government funding over the coming decade, as part of a new approach to how projects are planned and delivered.'

On the 10 year Infrastructure Strategy It states:

'The soaring maintenance backlog which has left our schools, colleges, hospitals and courts in a state of disrepair will be turned around as part of the government’s landmark 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy published today (19 June).  

The Strategy sets out a long-term plan for how the government will invest in infrastructure and ensure that funding is spent effectively and efficiently, marking a new approach to how projects are planned and delivered.  

'This government is committed to doing things differently to deliver infrastructure and fix the failures of the past, having accepted all of the James Stewart Review’s recommendations on HS2. The Strategy provides the certainty and stability needed to attract investment, boosting British supply chains and jobs, and takes a joined-up view to improve planning and delivery across all types of infrastructure.  

'It will also encourage inward investment by providing a long-term vision that gives investors the confidence and certainty they need to truly commit funding to projects, creating job opportunities and boosting living standards for people across the country, delivering on the Plan for Change. 

'These plans are backed by at least £725bn of government funding over the coming decade, from which at least £9bn will be allocated in 2025-26 to address the critical maintenance needs of health, education and justice estates, rising to over £10bn per year by 2034-35.  

'This will increase access to quality, modern public services, following years of underinvestment, and deliver significant real-world benefits for patients, students, staff, and communities.'

Grimshaw is a leader in designing such projects in the areas of health and education, exemplified in its design proposal for The Fleming Centre, St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, as well as heating networks and tunnels, which include the North London Heat and Power Project at Edmonton in London and the HS2 Colne Valley Viaduct.

Above: interior of the Fleming Centre, St. Mary's Hospital (competition shortlist - courtesy Grimshaw)

The Fleming Centre, St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London

The Fleming Centre is part of the wider Fleming Initiative, established jointly by Imperial College Healthcare and Imperial College London to find solutions to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at a global scale. As part of the St Mary’s Hospital masterplan in Paddington, the design competition for this new centre focused on providing a space to bring together researchers, policymakers, clinicians, behavioural experts, commercial partners and the public to combine their shared networks, expertise and skills.

Located in a tight site in Paddington Basin, west London, the centre is also intended as a vital conduit between the existing hospital to the wider area, through publicly accessible routes, and in its proximity to the canal, linking and engaging the critical scientific advancement of the centre directly with the public.

Grimshaw’s design, developed in collaboration with Brunet Saunier & Associes and SpaceHub was shortlisted (one of five) in the international, anonymous design competition.

The proposed design embraces the heritage of the site, preserving the existing industrial buildings — the last remaining wharf buildings in the basin — adapting them for reuse and reinstating historic openings to provide stronger visual connections and unification with a new public square.

This concept of connection, accessibility and openness, continues through the design, with six stories of functional spaces comprising an exhibition, café, interdisciplinary, and research laboratories and workspaces, all accessed via an open double height foyer. The often-expected barriers between science and the public are removed across these spaces, with open views into the laboratory spaces, and at the heart of the building, a Discovery Centre. Providing open access to visitors, schools, and the public into the central space, supports the ambitions of the Centre, enabling knowledge about the critical importance of AMR and the role we all play in combating it.

Above: canal side view of the NLHPP in Edmonton London - courtesy Grimshaw

North London Heat and Power Project at Edmonton, London

A key part of the master plan for the site (which currently processes waste and recycling for over two million residents from seven north London boroughs) is the replacement of the park’s existing 1970s energy-from-waste plant. In its place, a new cutting-edge Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) will divert non-recyclable waste destined for landfill and use it to generate low-carbon electricity. When operational, the new facility will generate 70 megawatts of electricity: enough to power around 127,000 homes annually. The ERF will be among the most advanced in Europe, using Selective Catalytic Reduction technology to convert nitrogen oxide – a by-product of waste incineration – into water and atmospheric nitrogen.

Accompanying the ERF is a Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) which separates recyclable material from council waste, as well as providing a centre for the public and businesses to recycle bulky items. This facility significantly expands recycling infrastructure in north London, anticipating the shift towards more recycling and less waste from residential households.

The park also integrates a new visitors centre – EcoPark House – which provides facilities to enable learning programmes on waste, energy and recycling, while rehoming the local Edmonton Sea Cadets and providing them with a wharf onto the River Lee. This building will be entirely off-grid, using renewable power generated using photovoltaic cells and ground-source heat pumps, in combination with highly efficient insulation, natural ventilation and timber solar shades, acting as an exemplar for low-energy environmental solutions.

In woodland areas, where more restricted views of the viaduct are experienced from nearby footpaths, shorter spans maximise headroom beneath the structure while the use of patterns and texture provide interest at a human scale.

Acoustic barriers run the full length of the viaduct to protect local communities and the parkland environment from train noise. Where possible, innovative transparent barriers reduce the apparent scale of the viaduct experienced at ground level, whilst providing daylight and views for passengers between two long tunnels at each end of the valley.

The 4m high barriers have been designed to appear as light as possible, clearly subsidiary to the main structure and fully integrated with the overall design.

Above: Colne Valley viaduct for HS2 (courtesy Grimshaw)

HS2 Colne Valley Viaduct

The design for the 3.4 km-long viaduct celebrates the architecture of engineering with a structure that is expressive of power, speed and function. High speed trains create substantial structural loads and the viaduct design balances onerous engineering demands with a refined and elegant design, by using crafted and faceted concrete forms.

Robust, durable and self-finished materials are specified throughout to ensure the viaduct is low maintenance and ages gracefully throughout its 120-year design life.

Structural spans and pier forms respond to the changing landscape of the Colne Valley. Where the viaduct crosses lakes, 80 m structural spans form a rhythmic sequence of low, slender arcs that skim lightly over the surface, preserving landscape views across the water.

In woodland areas, where more restricted views of the viaduct are experienced from nearby footpaths, shorter spans maximise headroom beneath the structure while the use of patterns and texture provide interest at a human scale.

Acoustic barriers run the full length of the viaduct to protect local communities and the parkland environment from train noise. Where possible, innovative transparent barriers reduce the apparent scale of the viaduct experienced at ground level, whilst providing daylight and views for passengers between two long tunnels at each end of the valley.

The 4m high barriers have been designed to appear as light as possible, clearly subsidiary to the main structure and fully integrated with the overall design.