Architectural design of the Jubilee Line Extension stations

The Jubilee Line Extension has set a new benchmark for underground railway station design. It has done away with labyrinthine tunnels, confusing layouts and formless areas with palliative decorations and replaced them with bold, generous, user-friendly spaces where signs are virtually unnecessary. The change was primarily achieved by appointing leading teams of architects on each of the eleven stations, giving them a free rein to challenge engineering preconceptions. This paper describes London Underground's brief to the architects and then provides examples of their various approaches at Bermondsey, Westminster, London Bridge, Waterloo, North Greenwich, Canada Water and Canary Wharf stations.