Time-lapse video of 1970s buildings being levelled

HS2’s demolition of Grant Thornton House and One Euston Square – designed by modernist architect Richard Seifert – has reached ground level.

The scheme’s enabling works contractor, a joint venture between Costain and Skanska, has completed two years’ worth of demolition work, taking the 1970s towers down to make way for Grimshaw’s London terminus of the £100bn railway.

The site has now been handed over to main station contractor, a Mace Dragados joint venture, who will complete the demolition of the basement below in preparation for main construction works at the site.

Euston station in feb 2018 elizabeth hopkirk

Source: Elizabeth Hopkirk

Euston station in February 2018, flanked by the Seifert towers

The buildings were cocooned within an acoustic wrap to mitigate noise and dust in the local area.

Excavators with breaking and munching attachments were then lifted to the roof using the site’s tower crane and then worked down the building, demolishing it floor by floor.

HS2 Euston station CGI entrance

Grimshaw’s HS2 Euston station proposal from 2019

More than 35,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete was demolished and processed on site for re-use on the station scheme.

Euston station

The entrance to Euston station - pre-pandemic

The final stage of the work involved breaking a 2.7m thick first floor slab at the One Euston Square building.