The North Greenwich Transport Interchange is a vital element in London’s transport strategy. A key gateway to the capital, it serves commuters from the South-east, and acts as a hub for public transport alternatives for their onward journey. It also plays a significant role in the regeneration of the North Greenwich peninsular, home to the Millennium Dome and the site of a wholly new quarter of London.
Positioned directly above the entrance to North Greenwich Underground station, part of the Jubilee Line extension, the Interchange is signalled by its dramatic curving roof. Supported on tree-like steel columns, its aerodynamic shape is evocative of a bird’s wings in flight. This vast canopy, 160 metres wide, shelters arriving and departing passengers.
Under one side of the canopy, cars and taxis drop off passengers. Under the other, buses arrive and depart. Sandwiched between these two sides, and within sight of both, is a waiting room. Although complex, the structure ensures an experience of openness, simplicity and clarity of form. It is designed to help passengers orient themselves, whether they are boarding buses or descending to the Jubilee Line station.
The roof canopy is perforated to allow daylight to illuminate the deepest spaces, while specially designed lighting units suspended from the ceiling can both project light up to the reflective aluminium ceiling panels and spotlight the area immediately below. Suspended glass panels along the edges of the canopy provide weather protection but allow natural ventilation.
As London grows steadily eastwards and the Greenwich peninsular is redeveloped, the interchange will ensure that thousands of new residents and workers can travel locally and across London without recourse to their cars.