Waterloo Tunnels

The urban landscape of Waterloo is defined by its network of vaulted railway arches and tunnels. We were commissioned by Lambeth Council to collaborate with lighting designers Michael Grubb Studio and local communities to enliven two of these tunnels with projections that explore the area’s transformation from rural marshland to a bustling entertainment district. Drawing on historical maps from the Lambeth Archives, we developed workshops for a local primary school, secondary school, Morley College, and a parent and toddler group. In the primary school workshop, students acted as archaeologists, identifying features on the maps and turning them into papercut artefacts. Older participants explored the map forms themselves, using tape and stickers to create bold graphic patterns. Outputs from Morley College inspired a set of projections that animate into a train, referencing the arrival of the railways—a pivotal moment in the area's history. We also created custom festive paper-cut snowflakes from the printed maps with the Friends of Archbishop’s Park parent and toddler group. The projections run along Carlisle Lane and Westminster Bridge Road, the latter launching to coincide with the Lumiere Festival London.