The new subway station that is currently under construction at 96th Street and Broadway will open in the fall of 2010 and might actually be a pleasant place to wait for a train. Crumbling ceiling paint and piles of vomit may be overshadowed by nature-inspired art installations. The MTA is not stopping there, the sounds of screeching cars and muffled transit announcements might be replaced with the dulcet sounds of nature, not unlike that Brookstone alarm clock Grandma bought you for Christmas.
The New York Times is reporting that this station is expected to have hidden speakers that play calming sounds and will have 180 stainless-steel flowers that slowly sway back and forth from the structure's arched-glass and steel ceiling. There will also be colorful ticket kiosks which might soften the impact of buying a ridiculously overpriced ticket.
The design team behind this project is Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa of Antenna Design who have previously inserted their artwork into the city. They designed some of the newer subway cars on the 2 track and also did the 2002 Bloomingdale’s exhibit “Flower Power” that consisted of flowers that would light up and make sounds as people walked passed.
While this seems like a really great idea, isn’t the MTA broke? Maybe their first priority should be reliable trains?
Eh, screw it – this sounds great.
Photo Courtesy of New York Times via Antenna Design
