Transport Cathedral: AJ Feature
03/02/2000
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Going Underground
Canary Wharf, by Foster and Partners, station has the largest passenger capacity of all the jle stations: it is as long as Canary Wharf Tower is tall. It is entirely underground, built within the drained West India Dock, using cut-and-cover construction. A new park covers the station at ground level where the only visible station elements are the three dramatic curved steel and glass entrance canopies. The volume of anticipated traffic, as Canary Wharf continues to develop, defined the guiding design principles: clarity of circulation, durability of materials and ease of maintenance. Twenty banks of escalators carry passengers to and from platforms, ticket machines etc are ranged along the sides of the ticket hall, maximising the central space. Reinforced-concrete columns stretch from platform level to the roof where elliptical bearings allow the station to move in response to geological pressures. They were cast on site and have a natural finish; the bases of the columns are clad in stainless steel to prevent damage. At platform level, concrete diaphragm walls that were cast into the ground have been left exposed.
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