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Jubilee line

Time for a mean GreenwichJust when you think the Jubilee line has exhausted its potential to dazzle and entrance, you arrive at North Greenwich with its deep blue caverns and colossal illuminations and your breath is taken away all over again.

All points NorthThe size of the place alone is awe-inspiring. Only those without a soul would fail to get real tingles of excitement when descending into its vast, flickering chambers. Well, those without a soul or those on their way back from a lousy night at the O2 arena.

North Greenwich station sits in a trench 15 metres deep and over 200 metres long. Such dimensions merit, in fact demand, architecture conceived and realised on an epic scale. Which is exactly what happened:

Deep deep downThe batteries of imposing columns, covered with shimmering blue tiles, heighten (literally) your awareness of the ensemble of architecture. I’d wager it’s rare for your eye to be drawn upwards in an Underground station. That’s definitely not the case at North Greenwich.

Why the grand scale? To match the grand intentions of the neighbouring Millennium Dome, naturally, and to accommodate all those millions of people that were expected to flock through the station from around the country.

It didn’t quite work out like that. In fact, in terms of appearance, style and content, North Greenwich station totally outranked the Dome upon its opening in 1999.

And it still does today.

Blue is the colour

Bang the drumThe more I write about the Jubilee line, the more I realise it is one of London’s finest collections of contemporary architecture. The stations that were either redeveloped or built from scratch to form the extension of the line between Westminster and Stratford are among the city’s most bewitching.

Pa-ra-pa-pa-pumThe enormous glass drum that forms the centrepiece of Canada Water is another example. Its scale and ambition is matched by its class and intelligence. Light pours down into the heart of the station, creating a beautiful patchwork of shadows, shades and silhouettes.

Around the edge of the drum, vast walkways and staircases circle up, around and below each other, affording plenty of views of the whole interior (should you want to sample them) while coaxing you ever downwards into the building’s bustling heart:

Fade to greyI particularly like the necessarily-huge lid on top of the drum, which reminds me a little of the similarly futuristic look of Southgate station.

A full lidPlaudits must go to the architects Buro Happold, who designed the drum and whose portfolio embraces everything from the Millennium Dome and the Lowry Centre in Salford to Ascot racecourse and the Robert Burns birthplace museum.

It’s yet another extraordinary creation in an otherwise ordinary setting.

These Jubilee line stations march across south-east London in a parade of glory. It’s hard to think we’re likely to see such a marriage of investment and imagination again.

Window on the world

Fit for a QueensburyThis is the first item I’ve included in my quest about which I know almost nothing. I confess I’ve no idea when precisely it was built, nor who by. I haven’t a clue as to the designer. I’m not even entirely sure what to call it. A monument? A turret? A freestanding feature?

Dish of the dayIt’s not just the object itself that’s striking; it’s also where it is positioned:

Urban urbaneWhat a finely-conceived, thoughtfully-implemented bit of suburban planning.

I’m guessing the whole area was laid out around the same time as the construction of the station, which opened in December 1934.

Hopefully whoever did it received some sort of municipal honour or local corporation tie. Cleverly (but sensibly) the Underground roundel is visible from a number of approaches, including the far end of the long slice of green that stretches away from the roundabout and behind the point from which I took the above photo.

All the roads, paths, shops and houses fan out from the station – as they should. And there, right at the point where all the trajectories meet, is… is…

Lovely erection (steady now)Whatever it is, it’s a bit special.