Kings Cross Station being a case in point. The curved plan of part of the building is because it's on a curved low ridge - or rather the street that was knocked down to make way for the station was curved because it was on a low ridge.

And I remember visiting the Forum and being really struck by how *close* everything was together and how, for example, a mob of a few thousand people could become a real factor if you were trying to conduct any sort of business in the city centre.