Vauxhall Cross
Vauxhall Cross is road junction at Vauxhall in the London Borough of Lambeth, immediately to the south-east of Vauxhall Bridge. Six major roads converge at the cross, including the Albert Embankment which exits the cross to the north, and which is the southernmost point of entry into the London Congestion Charge area.
It is the site of the central headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service, which occupies purpose built offices erected between 1989 and 1992. More recently, a large complex of apartments and offices has been built to the south of Vauxhall Bridge.
Vauxhall Cross was described as "one of the most unpleasant road junctions in South London", in Nikolaus Pevsner's architectural guide to London. Throughout the 2002 to 2004 period, the cross has been undergoing a gradual redesign to accommodate a bus interchange linked to the Vauxhall mainline railway and tube stations, both of which are located to the south-eastern end of the cross. Work has involved design changes to traffic lanes, improved pedestrian and cycle crossings, refurbishment of walkways beneath the mainline railway viaduct, and the construction of a bus station - as at July 2004 still unfinished - featuring an undulating steel-frame canopy and ribbed steel walls.