There’s been a station at Tottenham Court Road since 1900. As the gateway to the West End, it’s pretty much always been a 24-hour station, with peak flows across the day and night. With the arrival of the Elizabeth line set to increase daily footfall from 100,000 to 200,000, expansion of the ticket hall and modernisation of the intricate existing tunnels and cross passages was vital.

Designing an environment that suited the huge variety of passengers was key, but we also had to ensure that the new station complied with London Underground requirements for station lifespan, capacity, fire safety, space planning and step-free access, all-the-while working within the existing, fully operational station.

The upgrade, which completed in 2016, includes a new eastern ticket hall – six times larger than the original – which has massively improved the comfort of travellers. With it came new entrances to all sides of St Giles Circus, more escalators, and improved passageways and platforms.

We collaborated with world-renowned artist Daniel Buren to create one of the largest permanent art installations found in any transport environment. Buren, known for his Op art-style geometric shapes and stripes, worked with us for more than a decade to realise Diamonds and Circles, which is brought to life by the movement of people through the station.

Located in the unpaid area of the station, it offers a gentle means of wayfinding, indicating the Oxford Street entrance with black and white shapes, and the Plaza entrances to the foot of the iconic Centre Point tower with colourful shapes.

The urban realm beneath Centre Point is part of the larger St Giles Circus scheme which stretches from Tottenham Court Road Station to Soho and Covent Garden beyond. New public plazas have become a great place to meet before a shopping spree on Oxford Street or a night out in the pubs and clubs of Soho.

Eduardo Paolozzi’s glass mosaic of urban industrial scenes continues to entertain travellers on the Northern and Central line platforms and their connecting spaces. More than 95 per cent of his original tiles remain, restored, and cleaned but some – the arched entrance pieces in particular – were removed and will soon be found at Paolozzi’s alma mater, Edinburgh University.