neiheiser argyros cloaks london underground exhaust vents with perforated screen

while maintaining a strong visual identity, the geometry blurs and fades into its context.

kat barandy October 10, 2020 2 min

london and athens-based architecture studio neiheiser argyros presents its recently completed ‘north greenwich screen,’ designed in dialogue with the adjacent ‘tide’ elevated linear park. the project is defined as a perforated metal screen rising over 45 feet that wraps a london underground exhaust vent and fire escape. the enclosure folds and thickens to contain a large digital media screen, a small cafe, and public restrooms. the corrugated metal skin both obscures and reveals the infrastructure contained within, creating a subtly dynamic veil that changes expression throughout the day.

neiheiser argyros screen
images by lorenzo zandri | @lorenzozandri (unless otherwise stated)

neiheiser argyros designs its north greenwich screen in conversation with its ‘tide’ elevated linear park, which opened last summer and was designed in collaboration with diller scofidio + renfro. almost dancing and never touching, the two works of architecture geometrically twist past one another and are expressed with intentionally contrasting visual languages. while the ‘tide’ is curving and solid, the screen enclosure is angular and translucent. in this way the two designs are opposites in dialogue.

neiheiser argyros screen

with its north greenwich screen, neiheiser argyros curates a volume that is both present and absent. with its location beside the O2 arena and the north greenwich tube station, it will be seen by thousands of visitors daily, demanding a strong visual identity. on the other hand the geometry fades into its context, as a moment of visual quiet compared to the eclectic geometries and patterns that surround it. the perforated metal will sometimes catch the light and snap into crisp view. at other times the figure will blur slightly, refracting and distorting the light that passes through, hovering just out of visual comprehension.

neiheiser argyros screen