Old Germanic Font

Alexanderplatz, Berlin

Odeonsplatz

Munich has a rich bevy of thoughtful subway designs. A visit to Odeonsplatz U-Bahn station marks just the beginning of underground explorations in Munich...

Inspiring civic engagement...on the subway

Great article on the Design Observer Group's site about one teacher's efforts to inspire civic engagement and journalistic practice among students and citizens alike...on the subways.

Read Article here:

Taking the A-Train

"Much more than we do now, we need to use civic engagement to achieve education goals. Being educated starts with being a citizen of your community. Right now in urban centers across the United States, there is a dearth of motivation and interest among students who believe that so-called "progress in the real world" is disconnected from their classroom experiences."

-Alexander Heffner, Taking the A-Train

I've often mulled over interesting and productive ways to utilize time spent on public transportation. Obvious choices are reading, catching up on your organizer or even just taking a moment to do nothing and rest. But I love this idea of starting a trickle of dialogue among passengers. One thing I thrived on when being a student was that opportunity to connect academic projects to "real world efforts"...to in fact make the project a real world effort.

I hope Heffner's students have a ball with it. Their work would probably certainly make for a great publication....one that would no doubt be a great read for anyone in transit between point a and point b who has some mental time to spare to chew on thoughts about society.

U-Bahn Lorenzkirche, Nürnberg

Photos by Annika Lundkvist

November 2010

First time heading into the underground layers and levels this time around in Germany. We have been in Bavaria for just over a month now and finally, upon the 3rd visit to Nürnberg, we headed into the Lorenzkirche subway station for a brief visit...

Brutalist Repetition: D.C. Metro

Graphic of Harry Weese's sketch of vaulted subway station for D.C. transit system

Source: thestatementblog.com

Photos by Annika Lundkvist

February 2010

Harry Weese's (architect) design of the D.C. metro system incorporates a repetition in using the Brutalist style and making extensive use of exposed concrete.

D.C. Underground: More than Metro

The underground Concourse at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. is a spacious and fluid - an absolutely lovely addition as well as a complete pleasure to move through. I, in fact, moved through it a few times in the span of one late afternoon.

Photos: Annika Lundkvist