The UK train station that looks like a ‘cosmic spaceship’ becomes major landmark
ONE tube station has just been awarded Grade II listed status just 25 years after opening.
The station has been described as “one of the most memorable and theatrical spaces on the London Underground network” – and has become a landmark in its own right.
On November 20, 1999, Southwark Underground Station opened to the public, and it’s now been added to the National Heritage List.
The underground station was one of six new stations built for the Jubilee Line Extension and was designed by engineers in 1994.
As regular commuters and London tourists will know, the underground station has a circular ticket hall, a towering blue glass screen and steel-panelled tunnel in the lower concourse.
During its design, the six stations were set to have their own unique identities with different looks but be linked by materials like steel and polished concrete.
A building usually has to be over 30 years old to be considered for listing.
But Southwark Underground Station became eligible for listing last year as the age of the building is calculated ‘from the point at which the ground was first broken’.
There are 72 London Underground stations on the National Heritage list – and Southwark Underground Station is the youngest.
Announcing the tube station’s listing was heritage minister Fiona Twycross, who said the station is a ‘stunning example’ of late 20th-century architecture.
She added: “I’m thrilled to celebrate and help protect this bold design, with its striking play on natural and artificial light.
“Used by thousands every day, this station is a great reminder of the extraordinary breadth of our country’s architectural heritage.”
Both locals and tourists are just as impressed with the train station.
One called it a “cosmic cruiseship” while another said it was a “space aged looking station”.
A third simply wrote: “This place is what I think the future looks like.”
Southwark was one of six new stations built for the Jubilee Line Extension in the 1990s, overseen by the architect Roland Paoletti.
The other stations built alongside it are Bermondsey, Canada Water, Canary Wharf, North Greenwich and Canning Town.
According to the C20 Society, the new stations on the Jubilee Line Extension were said to be the biggest architectural sensation of their kind since the Moscow Underground back in 1999.
Now, millions pass through Southwark Underground Station every day, with the most recent figure from 2023 recording 8.51 million passengers.
There’s another underground station in the UK that doesn’t have listed status but thanks to its design looks like it could be in Moscow.
Gants Hill sits on a roundabout in Zone 4 and from the outside, doesn’t look like anything special.
The interiors were designed by modernist Charles Holden, known for creating most of the London Underground system.
It was inspired by the Moscow Metro system, after Holden returned from the Russian city during WWII having been there as a consultant.
The barrel vault ceilings are similar to Elektrozavodskaya metro station in Moscow.
The central concourse even has the nickname “Moscow Hall”, and while it’s not a listed station, some believe it should be.
Joshua Abbott, author of the Modernism in Metroland blog, told local media that the underground “should be listed.”
He added: “It is unique among Holden’s stations due to the Moscow Metro influenced platform design and lack of surface buildings – Gants Hill should be very proud of its most secret building.”
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