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Metro Arts and Architecture: why doesn't Australia have one?

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Metros are wonderful things, efficient, mostly inexpensive and safe. In most cities these have fine-looking stations that double as underground public art galleries. They bring a sense of community, a sense of belonging and identity to the area where the station is located.

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Murals decorate the wall and school’s art works fill the glass displays, poster promote the free city events and machine dispensers don’t sell junk food, but books – I am describing the Metro stations in Santiago Chile, similar to those in Lisbon, Porto and Ankara, out of the few I have travel through. What these cities have in common is that all of them are located in countries poorer than Australia and with similar or smaller population.
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In the case of Chile, the Metro system started to be built in 1970 by a government that understood the notion of public good. Projects of this scale require a believe in the notion of service to the community and of environmental responsibility. The above mentioned cities are countries that perhaps do not have an economic surplus year after year; nevertheless their priorities are right.

I have often discussed this issue with colleagues, some of whom would argue that Melbourne (for example), while it has a comparable population to cities with a metro, it is far too spread out, which is true - and I wonder what comes first?

The first stage for the Metro in Santiago was built between 1970 ad 1976, this now represent approximately 1 sixth of the total network. In the last two years its reach has double, connecting almost every corner of the city – waiting time, four minutes – no delays. A large section of the extension run under a river (Canal San Carlos), so no existing infrastructure would be damaged by the new one, this way also minimising environmental impacts. The investment has been considerable, the latest technology for noise reduction among others, were used to maintain the pace that would allow these extensions to be finished on time, two years. And no, things are not any cheaper in Chile. Workers also have entitlements and are looked after with appropriate gear and safety measures, and good public services.

I leave you to this fantastic article on "Metro Arts and Architecture" and I hope to read your comments here.

Beatriz C. Maturana
(the photos show 2 different Metro stations in the centre of Santiago)
For really cool photos of the Metro in Santiago Chile, visit: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=195735&page=1&pp=20
and for more information in Spanish: http://www.metrosantiago.cl/index.html, in English: http://www.urbanrail.net/am/sant/santiago.htm


Metro Arts and Architecture


Subways need not be boring or dreary! Many operators of metros, subways or underground railways want to attract more passengers with good station design. This often means extra effort and higher costs for the metro operators but it seems to pay when a metro is more than just a means of transport but something the population can be proud of.

Read below which metro systems double as the world's longest art galleries and in which cities you can see stunning underground palaces, museums, aquariums, an ancient chapel, or the world's first example of computer-generated architecture – or simply user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing underground station architecture.

Works of art or sophisticated architecture can be delightful, inspiring and thought-provoking for day-to-day commuters as well as an attraction for visitors. There's also evidence that vandalism diminishes in appealing stations because works of art and good designs are widely respected.

Most subway systems are rather dull from an aesthetic point of view (though even those systems may have a handful of stations a little better than the average). On the other hand there are cities which explicitly foster arts or good architecture or both in subways. Hence the list below is not meant to be a list of interesting stations, but rather a list of cities with many interesting stations each. The photos are examples from those cities. The list includes: ....
continue reading and enjoy great Metro potographs at: Metro Bits, http://mic-ro.com/metro/metroart.html available in Spanish and English
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