WHITECHAPEL WASH HOUSE

by Jonathan Radford

A new age wash house combined with a new entrance to Whitechapel Crossrail Station utilises the heat from the trainline to passively clean and dry clothes. Large structures and manual functions along with detailed finishes bring a grand experience to the building, much alike Roman bath houses. Visitors choose to use the free to access laundry facilities themselves as a social point, along with the hot baths, or as a laundry drop off on their commute. With the overall brief for the project to include joy, it is found here in the large scale, pastelled colour scheme and surprising threshold to bring pause and a softening in time to the visitor.