Worker in orange safety gear on a blue lift working on a large, curved concrete structure against a cloudy sky, architecture by MOXON Architects.
Chipping Warden Green Tunnel

Engineering and landscape aligned through collaboration

Chipping Warden Green Tunnel

Northamptonshire, England

2017 — ongoing

Clients:   HS2 Ltd, EKFB
Chipping Warden Green Tunnel forms a key part of the HS2 route through Northamptonshire, designed to integrate a major piece of national infrastructure into a sensitive rural setting. Moxon Architects’ role focused on shaping the tunnel’s landform, portal and support buildings so that the intervention reads as a natural extension of the surrounding countryside rather than an engineered boundary.
Aerial view of a highway construction site with cranes, construction vehicles, water ponds, and ongoing road development, architecture by MOXON Architects.

The design takes advantage of the cut‑and‑cover construction method, allowing the tunnel to be concealed beneath a carefully modelled landscape. This approach reinstates agricultural land, reconnects existing footpaths, and maintains long‑established patterns of movement across the site. The landform is deliberately understated, defined by gentle gradients and a planting strategy that strengthens local ecological networks.

Construction workers and heavy machinery building a bridge in an outdoor setting with a cloudy sky, landscape in the background, architecture by MOXON Architects.

Working collaboratively with EKFB and design partners ASC, Moxon developed a coherent response that aligns engineering requirements with environmental priorities. 

The tunnel’s structural clarity is complemented by a landscape framework that supports biodiversity, reduces visual impact, and preserves the character of the village and its surroundings.

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Chipping Warden Green Tunnel reflects the commitment of the team to infrastructure that is responsive, measured, and grounded in its context - a project where the landscape is not simply restored, but thoughtfully re‑composed to accommodate future infrastructure with minimal disruption to place.

Construction site with excavators and trucks on a dirt road, hillside in the background, under construction, architecture by MOXON Architects.
Partners
Consultant
ASC
Structural Engineering
Arcadis
Structural Engineering
COWI

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