Tottenham Court Road Station

Tottenham Court Road station has seen many changes over its 120 year history. From the 1900 Central London Railway buildings and platforms, the connection to the 1907 platforms of the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, a 1920s reconstruction to provide a sub-surface ticket hall, and escalators replacing lifts to the famous 1980s redecoration at platform level by artist Eduardo Paolozzi (along with London Underground architect Duncan Lamb), this station has had to evolve to meet the demands of the surrounding area and the London Underground’s platforms. In 2018 it sees yet another massive change with the culmination of the Elizabeth line project, bringing the number of platforms to six; allied to a congestion relief and step-free access programme that has seen a new sub-surface ticket hall and massive improvements to both access and interchange throughout the station.

Possibly the most contentious element of the project involved changes and adaptation to the Paolozzi mosaics, due to the structural changes impacting the many elevations on which they appeared. A decision was made to provide a simpler context for the highly detailed mosaics, in terms of platform and passageway finishes, by adopting the basis of the generic ‘Central line’ white ceramic tile finishes with appropriate colour tile contrast.

Craven Dunnill Jackfield, in conjunction with London Underground partners Johnson Tiles, were able to offer unique ceramic solutions to resolve these complex issues, including all large format and compliant field tiles and DDA borders, in addition to replicating the technically challenging acid-green border tiles to the Paolozzi mosaics.