![](/_uploads/5/8/b/58b5872170b2c/201307110218406d28eed32aaa569e35f2f2d5b9c990151d435a91-h158.jpg)
© Dennis Gilbert
Completed at the end of 1999, the extended Jubilee Line now runs from Stratford in the east of London to Stanmore in the north-west. Eleven stations, 12.2 km of newly excavated tunnels at a depth of between 15 and 32 metres, and four crossings under the Thames make this the largest and most difficult project ever executed beneath the metropolis. Six new stations were built, and five existing stations were considerably extended and modernized. The scheme cost a total of £3.2 billion – £1.1 billion more than originally estimated.Roland Paoletti, who made a name for himself in the 1980s with the construction of the metro in Hong Kong, was appointed chief architect for the Jubilee Line Extension, and it is thanks to him that nine architectural practices participated in the design of what would traditionally have been a civil engineering project. The architects were given a free hand. Only certain standard elements such as the pavings, the glass doors along the platforms, and the escalators were predetermined. Heide Wessely