London Talk: Tube Design: Who Wins, Old vs. New

The tube is London’s most iconic public transport. The first tube was London’s Baker Street tube station in 1863 and for decades London has renewed and expanded its underground. So here at Increation we were wondering if modern architecture and interior design of these stations can match the classic. In this blog we have put together a couple of the most interesting tube station interiors of London so you can decide for yourself. 

We begin with Regent’s Park tube station (1906) and Gants tube station (1947). Regent’s Park station was designed by Leslie Green, who became architect for London Underground in 1903. Green often did Art Nouveau turns and used terracotta tiles for the interior design. Regent’s Park is very colourful, yet Green managed to keep the station's interior to feel corporate and commercial as was the brief.

Gants tube station was the work of architect Charles Holden. He was highly influenced by modern architecture of Scandinavia with its innovative forms and restrained quality of workmanship. The porcelain coloured arched ceiling, makes the room feel warm, clean and classy.

To the modern, Southwark tube station has a very contemporary looking interior. The entire hallway has the a dark brown grey colour, which makes the orange stripes on the stairs stand out superbly. The escalator adds a retro feel to the station, because of its sharp lines and round edges. You can see that architect Richard MacCormac used a lot of round and cylindrical shapes throughout his design.

Light and spacious is the best way to describe Canary Wharf tube station. The glass entrance ceiling cleverly makes it feel like the station isn’t underground at all and the use of light and natural colours adds a warm feel to it.