And this motion is, of course, what this building is all about.Īfter the First World War, the many companies that ran the various lines of the Underground network were amalgamated into one structure. The walls are of travertine marble, with the grain of the stone leading sideways, providing a sense of flow they look like rivers frozen in stone. This is where it’s all made apparent, the language of control. But that’s not all they do – they also give the illusion that the building is quietly, efficiently and solidly organising the transport of London.
On the wall are machines that tell the viewer to position of every train in the system, and the intervals between the trains. There were shops at this level, multiple exits out of the station there is wonderful Art Deco detailing, classical columns in travertine marble a big entrance hall protecting one from the elements a clock with a jazz sunburst behind it right above the doors leading into the offices the whole thing screamed modernity, sophistication, technical excellence.Įntering the office lobby, the bustle of the entrance hall dies away, and one is filled with a sense of purpose, of control. The Underground arrived directly beneath the building, and one could come the stairs and turn directly into the offices of London Transport.
In 1929, the building that stands here would have been the nearest experience for a Londoner to an American skyscraper.
This is a paraphrased transcript of the show. What is the result of one of the most successful rebrands in design history? What made London Transport so easy to use, so cherished by the millions of commuters who travel by it? Where does Art Deco come into this story? In a recent programme on BBC Four titled Art Deco Icons, David Heathcote investigates the history of the famous London Underground, its logo and route map, its trains and stations, and talks about the wondrous building that is at its heart: the headquarters of this organisation atop St James’s Park station.
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