Southwark tube station

Southwark tube station is a London Underground station on the corner of Blackfriars Road and The Cut in the London Borough of Southwark. It is on the Jubilee Line, between Waterloo and London Bridge. It is in Travelcard Zone 1 and was opened on 20 November 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension. The station has a direct connection with the mainline at Waterloo East. Confusingly, the station is some way to the west of historic Southwark, which is served by Borough tube station.

Southwark station was designed by Richard MacCormac of MacCormac Jamieson Prichard. The station is built on a cramped site, with the platforms lying underneath the Victorian railway viaduct carrying trains between Waterloo East and London Bridge railway station. This presented significant technical and architectural difficulties, necessitating the construction of two concourses at different levels.

A lower level concourse lies between the two platforms, and connects to them at either end. It is a simple tunnel illuminated by glass and steel "beacons" at each end, and faced with stainless steel panels, deliberately left unpolished. Stairs lead up to a section of high floor in the central area of the tunnel, where narrow tube-like escalator shafts then head sideways (south) to the intermediate concourse one level up.

The intermediate concourse is the centrepiece of the station. It comprises a space 16 metres (52 ft) high with a glass roof that allows daylight to enter deep into the station. It is faced with a spectacular glass wall, 40 metres (131 ft) long, consisting of 660 specially cut pieces of blue glass, which was designed by the artist Alexander Beleschenko. The wall has since become one of the extension's most celebrated architectural features, winning critical approval and a number of awards.

According to the station's architect Richard MacCormac, the design of this and the lower level concourse were inspired by the designs of the 19th century Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

One end of the intermediate concourse connects to the station's entrance building, and the other to Waterloo East. The entrance building is only of modest low-rise proportions, with the intention being to use the space above it for a future commercial development (not yet constructed).

Additional images of Southwark Underground Station, and an architectural case study, are available on the Commission for Architecture andthe Built Environment (CABE) web site. [cite web |url= http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=316&aspectid=11 |title= Southwark Underground Station (photos) |publisher= Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) |accessdate=2008-03-01]

Nearby sights

* Globe Theatre
* Young Vic theatre
* Old Vic theatre
* Tate Modern

References

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