Program

Improving access to Canary Wharf, what may one day be one of Europe's largest business centers, was key to getting the entire Jubilee Line Extension funded. Located just south of the dense core of Canary Wharf, the station has the highest capacity of any along the new line. A predicted 16,000 passengers per peak hour in early years may ultimately rise to as many as 40,000.

Engineering

Because the station location is surrounded by inlets of the Thames River, dewatering and waterproofing were among chief engineering concerns. Twin-wall coffer dams formed a kind of bathtub. Then 160,000 tons of water was pumped out to create a foundation bed. Dewatering wells kept the drained area from flooding throughout construction. Dozens of deep piles anchor the base slab of the station, resisting 220,000 tons of water pressure. T-shaped, 85-foot-deep diaphragm walls formed the outer retaining-wall enclosure of the station.

Inside the station, a single row of cast-in-place columns support site-cast, concrete roof panels (image to left). Elliptical bearings at the column capitals move in response to geological pressures. Steel-and-glass canopies swell in a gentle curve to protect the three entrances.

Expression

Passengers entering the Canary Wharf station pass under one of three elegantly arched canopies of glass panels mounted on curving steel frames. A park covers the rest of the station. Though large, the canopies only hint at the vastness of the space below, which gradually opens to its 300-yard length and 115-foot width from an intermediate ticketing level. The center of the ticketing level is left open at the eastern portion of the station length, leaving the platform level open to the structure's full 75-foot height. The station's large capacity requires 20 escalators to serve it. An equally massive set of exit stairs is located at either end of the station, along with fresh-air, exhuast air, and elevator shafts. Shops wrap the long edges of the hall on the ticketing level.

The openess of the design aids way-finding, thus minimizing the need for signage. The impressiveness of the station is no accident. A great deal was spent to indicate its special nature within this high-rise skyscraper district.