Tooley Street Triangle

In 2019, following the successful delivery of Polly! At Fountains Abbey, we were again approached by Charles Holland Architects to design and deliver an intriguing permanent installation at London Bridge Station.

Part street furniture, part way-finding, the concept was to deliver a pyramidal beacon onto a triangular site between Tooley St and Duke St Hill.

CHA had conceived the overall concept and we worked between them and engineers to devise a fabrication system that would allow swift installation with minimal disruption to the surrounding public paving.

We designed an internal steel core made of hollow section steel, which is clad with a series of laser-cut and CNC line-bent steel panels. This structure supports a central steel tube which is fixed with more laser-cut steel flags and a giant stainless steel mirror ball.

A particularly challenging aspect of the design was the surface finish. From a variety of options, Charles Holland opted for vitreous enamel - both for its extreme durability and relationship to the enamel signs found throughout the railways and underground system.

We approached a number of enamelers and eventually settled with Links Signs. Due to programming requirements and other commitments, we decided to hand over the fabrication of the work to Links who took our design through to completion.

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‍Photography by Jim Stephenson and Luke Hayes