Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

"A community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic." [Katz, EPA] This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Transit stations as an element of civic architecture/commerce as an engine of urbanism

I have many pieces on this topic as it relates to subway and light rail transit--separate from railroad stations, which have a great history and place in civic architecture--including "Transit, stations, and placemaking" and "Design as a city branding strategy: transit edition."

Caption: Formosa Boulevard, Kaohsiung (Taiwan) – Half kaleidoscope, half metro station, Kaohsiung's Formosa Boulevard features the world's largest glass artwork. CNN photo.

In retrospect, it's somewhat embarrassing that the first piece is so US-centric, because of how artistic-aesthetic qualities are so essential to transit systems such as in Paris, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.

Those systems have multiple examples of stations as "high art" at least for transit, and how attractiveness is an important element within many other subway systems, such as the use of tile and distinctive station design treatments in Hamburg.  Asia has many outstanding examples as well.

The CNN story "World's best Metro stations" shows a fabulous station in Taiwan.

Somehow I missed this even though the New York Times reported on it ("Subterranean Naples, Brimming With Art"), but on a GGW entry, commenter James called attention to the "art stations of Naples." From the article:
Still a work in progress, the “art subway” has commissioned work from about 100 artists so far — most of them Italians, with a good dose of local talent — and an international roster that includes William Kentridge, Katharina Sieverding and Sol LeWitt, to name a few.

“Artists come and present their vision of Naples to help Neapolitans see their city differently,” said Antonella Di Nocera, the city counselor responsible for culture. “In this city, people take history for granted, but we want to teach young people that they are part of a stratified city.”

The subway “draws on the strength of what Naples has to offer,” she said.

Working in various media, the artists have collaborated closely with prominent architects to transform utilitarian places of transit into captivating sites.

“This wasn’t about decorating the architecture, it’s about enhancing the space with the works of artists called on to dialogue with the space,” Mr. Bonito Oliva said. The stations, he added, are “monuments to innovation.”
Snails by "Cracking Art Group" at the Garibaldi station of underground of Naples - Architect Dominique Perrault
Snails by "Cracking Art Group" at the Garibaldi station of underground of Naples - Architect Dominique Perrault. Flickr photo by Karl.


In the Naples program, art and aesthetic elements have been deliberately incorporated as a primary element of the subway system as it has been constructed.  While on the surface Naples is known for grit, occasional sanitation strikes and the like, so far the "art stations" haven't been damaged by graffiti or other mistreatment--note that the transit system has a small staff dedicated to maintaining these stations specifically.

At the end of the entry, I've appended two video news stories showing the stations.  The first one is in English, the second in Italian with subtitles.

2.  At the Columbus Circle station in New York City, the Turnstyle food and shopping hall has been incorporated on the perimeter of one of the walkway exits, adding a retail element ("Noshing at the Columbus Circle Subway Station," New York times, and providing opportunities for independently-owned businesses to operate in an area with otherwise extraordinarily high rents.   It's also another example of the recent explosion of "food halls" as a retail type.
Turnstyle food and shopping hall, Columbus Circle subway station, New York City
Photo by Evan Sung. 

The quote about "commerce as an engine of urbanism" comes from Professor Alex Wall.  the businesses enliven the corridor, provide better services for transit riders, and support entrepreneurial activity, while generating additional revenue for the transit system. 

An almost 50 year old Regional Plan Association study, Urban Design Manhattan, on the pedestrian mobility system in Manhattan suggesting in part the direct incorporation of subterranean space and mezzanine space in buildings into the pedestrian network.  This is an example of how to do it.

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41 Comments:

At 10:31 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/oct/20/stockholm-metro-tour-world-longest-art-gallery

 
At 8:05 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/photos/9-train-stations-unforgettable-architecture/worth-missing-train

 
At 5:59 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://hyperallergic.com/295438/in-france-and-japan-trains-now-bring-the-art-to-you/?mc_cid=6a091a4c4d&mc_eid=2969bd88d5

 
At 8:21 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

art trains in France

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/national/article79375947.html

3M produces the film applications used in the trains

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_EU/3MGraphics/GraphicSolutions/Applications/PublicTransport/?PC_Z7_U00M8B1A08P2D0IT728S6SH9L2000000_assetId=1361740900553

 
At 9:34 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

architect and urban design planner for Via Transit system, San Antonio

S.A. Confidential ; Building a better S.A. - starting with the urban core
San Antonio Express-News (TX) - Monday, May 9, 2016

Author: Steve Bennett, Staff Writer
"How can we build a better city?" Christine Viña is thinking out loud during an interview at "the Grand," as VIA staffers refer to the transit service's West Side executive offices in a renovated 1907 train station.

It's the question that Viña wrestles with every day, both as an architect and urban planner for VIA Metropolitan Transit and as 2016 president of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

A vocal advocate for downtown living, sustainable architecture and historic preservation, Viña says, "We have to educate people about the transportation advantages of living in the inner city. I'd like to get away from the idea of preservation as an elitist opportunity."

 
At 7:46 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

public pianos at St. Pancras station, pianist gives lessons

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/this-is-how-to-get-free-piano-lessons-at-st-pancras-station-a3250766.html

When the Victoria line opened in 1969, each station was given a different visual identity using tiled motifs on the platform walls, within its seat recesses.

Brixton Station mosaic, Hans Unger

Tottenham Court Road station mosaics

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/tristram-hunt-these-new-public-spaces-like-king-s-cross-square-are-giving-us-back-our-city-8844130.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/5894076/Ground-Control-Fear-and-Happiness-in-the-Twenty-First-Century-City-by-Anna-Minton-review.html

King Cross Pond Club

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/how-london-beat-new-york-to-be-the-worlds-greatest-city-10363910.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/attractions/st-pancras-goes-on-double-time-with-new-cornelia-parker-sculpture-10281292.html

http://www.theladytravels.com/yearofthebus/

Stratford bus station

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tube150/tube150-exhibition-returns-to-farringdon-8988623.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/tube150/a-changing-network-a-changing-city-8913397.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/simon-jenkins-our-rail-heritage-is-at-last-getting-the-respect-it-deserves-8423701.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/celebrating-the-suburbs-peckham-rye-station-rises-again-along-with-a-string-of-similar-south-london-8411094.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/the-gigs-that-come-to-you-6755405.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/eurostar/3634630/St-Pancras-Station-A-Victorian-masterpiece-restored-to-splendour.html

 
At 8:08 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.617.4503&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Railways, Hotels, and Tourism in Great Britain 1839-1914
Jack Simmons
Journal of Contemporary History
Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr., 1984), pp. 201-222

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02697450802423641

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/17538330911013906?journalCode=jpmd

http://ojs.unbc.ca/index.php/acme/article/view/706

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09654319608720349

http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/infrastructure/our-insights/remember-the-people-the-foundation-for-success?cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck-oth-1606

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/06/06/build-it-and-they-will-sit-keenan.html

 
At 9:19 AM, Anonymous Richard Layman said...

New U-Bahn line in Dusseldorf.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/feb/19/ad-free-art-underground-dusseldorf-ubahn-new-metro-line

 
At 2:57 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

mural at a transit station in Montreal,

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/west-island-gazette/mural-will-transport-commuters-through-valoiss-history

 
At 6:19 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Los Angeles stations and public art:

https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/la-metro-where-art-and-transportation-come-together

 
At 1:11 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

for the new Night Tube service announcement, London Underground commissioned special neon signage/public art treatments.

http://www.kemplondon.com/examples/tfl-transport-for-london-night-tube/

 
At 4:15 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

wood being incorporated into new Japan Railway stations.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/24/national/railways-incorporating-wood-train-stations-give-rustic-natural-feel/#.V7397_krKM9

 
At 1:19 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

McAllen TX transit stop to be transformed into a transit stop-playground.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/new-bus-stop-plans-revealed/article_c1b616e0-94dc-11e6-96e7-432e25596306.html

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/mcallen-bus-stop-to-become-more-playful/article_d18e8308-7f98-11e6-8075-d3c51787e656.html

 
At 1:30 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Public art bus shelters, San Antonio.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/weekender/2014/09/three-new-public-art-bus-shelters-let-via-transit-riders-sit-sway-pretty/#photo-523386

Centro Chroma Tower, Centro Transit Center, San Antonio, featuring light work by Bill FitzGibbons, who lives in SA.

http://viasmartmove.com/centro-chroma-tower%E2%80%A8-shining-a-new-light-on-public-transportation/

 
At 11:30 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://projects.seattletimes.com/2016/transit-tourism/

 
At 7:04 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Monochrome Rose train by Pipilotti Rust

http://www.art-et-tram.ch/monochrome-rose/?lang=en

 
At 7:38 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

London Bridges architectural lighting competition

https://competitions.malcolmreading.co.uk/illuminatedriver/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/arts/design/london-bridges-illuminated-river.html

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/12/09/illuminated-river-lifschutz-davidson-sandilands-leo-villareal-london-bridge-light-contest/

 
At 7:20 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

redo of the Le Forum des Halles commuter rail station, Paris, WSJ article "Paris Rising", new canopy, etc.

 
At 11:58 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

train stations over airports

https://www.dezeen.com/2016/05/17/railroad-stations-architecture-democracy-transport-aaron-betsky-opinion/

 
At 11:40 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

subway platform murals:

https://www.pinterest.com/subarts/subway-platform-murals/

Buenos Aires:

http://buenosairesstreetart.com/2013/12/street-artists-new-murals-in-plaza-miserere-station-buenos-aires/

http://www.changesinlongitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Buenos-Aires-subway-subte-mural-575x472.jpg

http://buenosairesstreetart.com/2014/09/new-murals-in-federico-lacroze-subte-station-buenos-aires/

Tintin story characters, Brussels:

http://www.claireenfrance.fr/Escapades-chez-nos-voisins-Escapade-a-Bruxelles-et-visite-a-Isabelle-de-Borchgrave-485.htm

 
At 11:09 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

TfL "design manager for the bus system" = Ivan Bennett

http://designworkplan.com/wayfinding/sds-defining-city.htm

 
At 4:23 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

NYC DOT art program.

http://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-dot-art-program-works-to-beautify-streets-bridges-citi-bike-stations-1.13235624

 
At 6:11 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

world's best bus stop in Singapore

https://www.citylab.com/commute/2017/03/singapore-may-have-designed-the-worlds-best-bus-stop/518226/

 
At 6:33 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

new BRT route in Gary, IN will incorporate art into bus shelters

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-gary-broadway-route-st-0416-20170413-story.html

 
At 2:16 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Freeway abutments:

Ecuador, http://www.guayaquilesmidestino.com/es/murales-y-vitrales/murales-del-sur-de-la-ciudad/mural-la-vida-del-manglar

Sinaloa, Mexico, http://pequevrs.blogspot.com/2010/10/murales-en-puentes-para-culiacan-sin.html

Chile, http://www.plataformaurbana.cl/archive/2014/12/30/arte-y-ciudad-mural-mosaico-en-puente-alto-el-mas-grande-de-latinoamerica/

 
At 10:53 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

cleveland red line rta

http://www.cleveland.com/arts/index.ssf/2016/06/the_rta_red_line_art_blitz_unf.html

 
At 2:26 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2016/07/clevelands_revitalized_public.html

cleveland public space improvements as a way to leverage local benefits from holding the Republican National Convention.

http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2016/07/clevelands_revitalized_public.html

 
At 11:21 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

what toronto commuters are reading on the subway

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2017/07/09/what-toronto-commuters-are-reading-on-the-subway.html

 
At 6:52 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/07/planning-the-transit-hubs-of-the-future/532905/

 
At 12:31 PM, Anonymous Richard Layman said...

LA Union Station as hub/destination.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-union-station-20160409-story.html

 
At 5:40 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

new public art installations at subway stations in Toronto:

https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/07/14/coloured-canopy-and-street-style-portraits-among-the-artworks-coming-to-eight-ttc-subway-stations.html

 
At 8:49 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Transbay Transit Center, bus and rail, supposed to be a civic structure too, not just for transit, with a park on top.

very very expensive

http://projects.sfchronicle.com/2017/transbay-terminal/the-beginning/

 
At 12:02 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Philadelphia SEPTA, new screens etc. on buses and at stations.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/septa-tv-screens-intersection-kiosks-mayor-kenny-lcd-advertising-google-youtube-20171023.html

 
At 9:39 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

design thinking process, Singapore transit system:

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/downtown-line-designed-to-better-meet-needs-of-commuters

 
At 11:36 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Sydney repurposes decommissioned wooden escalators at a subway station into a public art piece:

https://www.fastcodesign.com/90153567/this-awesome-transit-art-is-made-out-of-antique-wooden-escalators

 
At 7:02 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

6 stations on the Toronto subway extension to Vaughn/York University:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/new-stations-of-long-awaited-ttc-subway-expansion-integrate-art-intoarchitecture/article36437285/

 
At 7:49 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

bowie subway, mta

https://hyperallergic.com/438500/david-bowie-metrocards-spotify-mta/

April 2018

 
At 10:36 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

while the focus seems more on public art, not on transportation infrastructure as an element of civic architecture and transportation infrastructure as the enabling device of the built environment, NYC DOT has an Asst. Commissioner for Urban Design and Public Art.

http://urbandemos.nyu.edu/plazas-bikes-and-public-art

5/15/2018

 
At 12:40 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Amsterdam:

https://www.dezeen.com/2018/07/26/amsterdam-metro-line-seven-stations-benthem-crouwel-architecture

 
At 5:17 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Eight historic neon signs are on display along Boston’s Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, a linear park that winds through downtown. The vintage signage – constructed from the late 1920’s through 1970 – includes once-iconic landmarks from Boston-area communities, and are owned by Dave Waller, a local collector.

https://www.signsofthetimes.com/article/vintage-boston-area-neon-signs-display-along-rose-fitzgerald-kennedy-greenway

9/26/2018

 
At 2:39 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

advertorial on bus stops with "a sense of place."

https://www.masstransitmag.com/technology/facilities/shelters-stations-fixtures-parking-lighting/article/21093924/creating-a-sense-of-place-at-bus-stops-improves-the-customer-experience

9/16/2019

 

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