“What I want them to feel is a little bit of cheer, a little bit of joy."
What do we want from a metro, bus or train station? Is there any advantage to creating places that are ‘noticed’ or enjoyed by commuters? Should they merely be functional, navigable spaces or ought we to consider the experience people have beyond the routine of ticket-buying, boarding, departure and arrival?
Will Alsop said of our recent station, Pioneer Village, in Toronto, Canada;
“I have to assume that on one of those really cold, miserable January mornings… there will be people down there travelling to a job that they’d probably rather not do. What I want them to feel is a little bit of cheer, a little bit of joy.”
aLL Design have worked collaboratively with artists and engineers to create transport architecture and infrastructure projects that offer more than their sole function. Often the by-product of these structures is their ability to generate interest – in architecture, in design, in art and in place.
