This P-I piece by their architecture critic talks about the interesting way architecture in Link stations and there’s a companion piece by the P-I’s art critic on Sound Transit’s public art program, “STart”. The two pieces are accompanied by a beautiful gallery of photos of the various art installations and station architecture. If you don’t know, Sound Transit spends one percent of non-tunnel capital expenditures on public art, which means all 1% of the amount spent on constructing tracks, elevated segments, park-and-rides and Sounder and Links stations is spent on public art.
In net, it’s a good thing, and the authors of the two pieces agree. Regina Hacket, the art critic calls Sound Transit’s art program “phenomenally effective”. On architecture, Lawrence Cheek of the first pieces speaking about the Link stations “they are colorful, richly detailed and considerate of human scale. Some seem likely to become emblems of their neighborhoods, and the whole system may speak well of Seattle”. Great.
Some of the art is really awesome and has won awards, some of it makes people – as Martin put it – “mad beyond reason” (I guess the one thing the 43rd democrats have in common with Tim Eyman is that neither likes Sound Transit’s art). I don’t like all of it, but it’s hard to argue that it’s not nice having it.
The art I like the best is the series of temporary pieces at the corner of Broadway and John in the buildings that will soon be torn down for the Capitol Hill station. It puts what otherwise would be a dead space on the street to some use, and it gives local artists an audience that might otherwise not ever see their art. Some of them are really great, and engage the passer-by, especially at night, see the image above.
I haven’t had a chance to judge all of the architecture of Link, but I have been in the Tukwila station a few times, and I love it. It looks great from the outside, and inside it’s a wonderful monument to transit. The other big station concepts are the Mount Baker station and the Beacon Hill station, neither of which I have been in, though here are some early photos of the Mount Baker station.
In all, I think that Sound Transit has built a really attractive system, and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the system will look like, especially the underground stations.
I really like the efforts that state agencies are expending to make public works projects more artistic. Some eamples of the art are on the bridges and ramps. I like the tulips on the Mt Vernon bridge, the salmon at Eastgate ramp and the mountains on the soud walls on I5 near the Trestle. I also like the gears sculpture at Lynnwood P and R. Does anyone know where we can find pictures of these artworks?
I see the salmon at Eastgate twice a week, and I love them. They’re one of my favorites.
Don’t give the state credit for that one, though, it’s Sound Transit. ;)
Oh, and I don’t know where you’d find pictures other than those that have become photo of the week on ST’s site, here: http://www.soundtransit.org/x8541.xml
I have a link in the post, where it says “STart” and you can see the various pieces there.
There is a very odd lion with an orange ball in his mouth standing at the corner of Edmunds and MLK near the Columbia City station. I don’t understand that piece of art, at all. Does anyone know the background to it?
I love the temporary art on Broadway. The street is more interesting than it’s been in years, even if half of it is closed.
You know what I hate after looking at it? the “Graduating shoes”/