Today’s focus is on George Breckenridge’s dissertation titled “‘Heavens below’: Excavating Roland Paoletti’s underground spectacle of (post?)modernity on London’s Jubilee Line Extension”. George graduated from Cambridge in 2020 after studying Geography at Fitzwilliam College. Compass is very grateful to George for providing valuable advice to current students and we wish him all the best for the future.
What was your dissertation about?
My Part II dissertation examined how in 1990s London, architectural astonishment happened not in fact overground, but underground. More specifically, I refer to the London Underground’s spectacular ‘Jubilee Line extension’ stations. Westminster, Canary Wharf, Southwark – to name just three. They’re truly extraordinary spaces – Southwark a ’heavens below’ in the eyes of critic Jonathan Glancey (2002). Google them right now. They changed the game and raised the bar for underground metro design globally.
If you’ve been there, you’ll know. But what few people at all know is the remarkable geographical story which traces their geopolitical ordering, architectural envisioning, and physical installation. Through 15 in-depth interviews with ‘JLEP’ project members, I uncovered this remarkable richness through oral histories, first-hand. Thatcher ringfenced it. Engineers from Hong Kong excavated it. And a visionary Italian modernist Roland Paoletti set no limits on an unprecedented pursuit of theatric public design. It was ambitious, but it sneaked through. And that’s just the half of it.
Where’s the geography? Well, mostly in the complex interaction of volumetric urbanism, subterranean geopolitics, and modern/postmodern urban design. To top it all, the engineering viability of these ‘bold and beautiful’ stations turned out to be spatially-determined in urban structure.
Why is this research important?
It’s important because these urban environments are genuinely experienced spaces of everyday life, for millions of Londoners. They form an everyday architectural encounter, and offer us a telling lesson about the politics and political economy of worthwhile public design.
From a purely architectural standpoint, the Jubilee Line extension stations represent one of the most intriguing crossovers between modernism and postmodernism in Britain. They’re ‘fine’ modernist constructions which create ‘theatre’ and ‘spectacle’ through a play on ‘pure’, ‘unornamented’ underground aesthetics – a curious version of ‘modernism-within-postmodernity’ (Levenson, 2002). In the underground topography, only distinct, volumetric cultures of excavation can facilitate such a dynamic form of cultural representation in material urban fabric.
What would be your advice to current second years planning their dissertation?
Pick a topic that fascinates you. It’s incredibly important, and in my opinion, a necessary condition for producing a successful dissertation. Though, also recognise that this is an insufficient condition. Do not make the initial mistake that I made, and prioritise this passion above picking a subject area that can undeniably speak to contemporary geographical literature. Work from within the subject outwards, rather than tracing the other way around.
DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS OF COMPASS MAGAZINE AS A WHOLE OR THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY