The main purpose of the Art Stations is to preserve the crucial points of the urban transportation’s network from the anonymity and the homogeneity that usually characterizes stations, airports, highways.
The architectures were designed by internationally famous designers such as Àlvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Dominique Perrault, Oscar Tusquets, Karim Rashid, Gae Aulenti, Alessandro Mendini.
Each station has its own stylistic features and was designed specifically for the area it would serve. The designers were also assigned the task of redesigning the surrounding street system and furniture, bringing to new life areas previously abandoned and so doing a strong social requalification and aesthetic rehabilitation were brought about in large areas of the urban fabric.
At the same time, under the artistic coordination by Achille Bonito Oliva, more than 250 works of art by 80 protagonists of contemporary art have been placed inside and outside the stations. There are site-specific paintings, sculptures, mosaics, ceramics, photographs and installations directly commissioned to internationally famous artists.
This strategy aims to improve citizen’s quality of life, not only in physical but also in moral and intellectual terms, and to make the use of public transportation a more attractive experience.

 

Text by Maria Corbi

Photo | Peppe Avallone, Fabio Donato, Luciano Ferrara, Luciano Romano