Evaluation

The client constraint on North Greenwich Station having a presence above ground level put a premium on the need to create a positive sense of place inside the station, and provide a clear and reassuring environment for passengers. Confined to an underground space, without the benefit of daylight penetration, and with the stringent operational requirements relating to the rail service, the architects have created a station that is exciting for passengers arriving, easy to use, and an interesting place to be.

The station's design was substantially determined by the alignment of the tracks and the length of the platforms. As there are retail amenities at North Greenwich, there is nowhere passengers can go in the station other than down to the concourse, along it, and down again to the platforms. And given its length, the proportions of the station are inherently very linear. Yet the station's organisation - which allows for clear space on either side of the concourse, increases the perceived width in what could have felt a rather claustrophobic space. This is enhanced by the dark glazed side wall which increases visual depth. The sense of spaciousness is also promoted by the suspension of the escalator machine rooms, liberating space on the central platform for passenger use and visual amenity.

The experience of being inside the station is greatly influenced by colour. The intense blue creates an exciting ambience and gives the station a strong sense of identity. Cladding the v-shaped columns in blue mosaic tile has made these more prominent as sculptural elements and accentuated their processional impact as the pairs of columns repeat along the station's length. The columns' incline presents them as diagonal shafts of blue, creating a sense of energy. Their passage between levels through the void on either side of the concourse promotes an understanding of, and orientation in, the space. The myriad small tiles increases the massive columns' visual texture, whilst the glass offers a degree of reflectivity. Visual interest is intensified by small areas of orange mosaic. The blue theme is enriched by the glass wall which lines the south platform, and its backlighting which gives the impression of blue light. The blue and orange are carried through in the neat motif on the glazed barriers on the upper concourse. On both levels, the strong colours are offset by a predominantly white terrazzo floor with particles of blue and orange.

Overall the architects have created a legible, efficient station with a distinctive sense of place. The form, the blue internal cladding, the multiplicity of vertical elements - columns and concourse structure, as well as the bowed ceiling ribs, all evoke a subtle image of a ship with its rigging. This image offers a useful symbolic link to the external context of the Greenwich Peninsula.