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JLE Mid Line Vents and Escape Shafts

JLE Mid Line Vents and Escape Shafts. Etching by Ian RitchieVent and escape shafts are provided at stations and at 1000m intervals between stations along the Jubilee Line Extension.
Ian Ritchie Architects designed the architecture for six shafts between London Bridge and Canary Wharf, one being at the west end of Bermondsey Station.
The architectural intention was to create a family of sculptural objects which articulate the functional and ‘flow’ character of the shafts (air movement, plant, escape and access).
These characteristics are translated according to the individual and often sensitive site locations to produce a unique and locally responsive expression of the presence of the Jubilee Line. Conventional louvres and grilles have been dispensed with in favour of designing discreet or highly articulate and efficient free air space zones.
The principle forms are:
–    Carved monoliths
–    Flat planes, vertical blade walls,
–    Curved sinuous horizontal planes or bands,
–    Filagree mesh skin: fine parallel bar or wire.
These forms are made from a palette of materials:
–    Smooth cream/grey concrete,
–    Dense polished black bassalt aggregate concrete,
–    Stainless steel bar and wire,
–    Metal plate: stainless steel, copper, galvanised steel.
Wherever possible landscape and planting forms an essential ingredient providing a seasonally shifting foil to the architecture of the surface structure.

Books
1/2003 TRANSPORT, ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE Architectural Press
ISBN: ISBN-10: 0750677481, ISBN-13: 978-0750677486
1/2003 BELOW GROUND LEVEL: CREATING NEW SPACES FOR CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE Birkhauser Verlag AG
ISBN: ISBN-10: 3764369086, ISBN-13: 978-3764369088
Journal Articles
07/2001 DIALOGUE (Taiwan)
03/2000 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD
02/2000 ARCHITECTURE TODAY
02/2000 ARCHITECTS' JOURNAL
01/2000 LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
12/1999 RA MAGAZINE No 69 WINTER 1999
12/1999 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER
11/1999 COUNTRY LIFE
10/1999 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER
02/1999 DAILY TELEGRAPH
10/1998 FRAME 4 Vol 2
09/1998 RIBA JOURNAL
05/1998 NEW STATESMAN
06/1997 THE INDEPENDENT
04/1996 STRUCTURES 96 Contract Journal supplement
02/1996 BUILDER
06/1995 ARQUITECTURA VIVA 71
02/1994 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER
02/1994 ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
06/1993 ARCHITECTURAL RECORD
04/1993 DOMUS
11/1992 BUILDING DESIGN
11/1992 BLUEPRINT
01/1991 THE INDEPENDENT
01/1991 DESIGN WEEKLY

JLE Mid Line Vents and Escape Shafts

Culling Road, London, UK

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Ben Smith Way

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