Crossrail Paddington

In 1994, Brian Clarke designed a 140-metre-long stained glass ‘light beam’ and mosaic artwork in collaboration with Will Alsop as part of a proposal for the then newly-conceived Crossrail (now the Elizabeth Line), which required a new station at Paddington in London.

Clarke's initial concept was for a glazed rooflight artwork, with clouds, translated from watercolour paintings, executed in his original technique of screenprinting in ceramic glaze on sheets of float glass. The final artwork for Clarke’s proposal used a carefully balanced combination of clear and coloured glass and was designed to be perceived in multiple ways. From within the mainline station, which runs parallel to the new rail link, the street would be viewed through both coloured and clear glass. By day, transmitted light would be projected onto the internal architecture of the building.

In the essay ‘Architectural Design’, from the 1996 book Colour in Architecture, Alsop writes:

'He understands the building process, he's architecturally minded. We wanted an art work which was part of the architecture but not dictated by it. The glass "box" was designed in a close collaboration between Clarke and the architects. There was an obvious need to retain large areas of clear glass. In fact, the balance between plain and coloured glass is very carefully considered. Clarke describes the overall composition as “episodic”.’