What the most fantastic metro stations in the world look like: volcanic lava, giant kaleidoscope and golden walls

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are many original metro stations around the world, but some of them are especially extravagant in design and simply stunning. You go down into the subway - and it is as if you find yourself in a fantastic movie. Moreover, for this station it is not necessary to be beautiful. The main thing is to amaze with your fabulous atmosphere. Well, if beauty and extravagance merge together, it's generally great.

"Marine" station in Naples

Metro station "Toledo" in Naples (Italy) was opened relatively recently - eight years ago. It is located on the main shopping street of the city. The new station was designed by Spaniard Oscar Tusquets and designed by artists William Kentridge and Robert Wilson.

For some, the station resembles caves, for others - space, but more often, thanks to the interesting lighting and the selection of colors, passengers associate Toledo with the ocean depths. The station has four elevators, a staircase and 18 escalators, two of which lower passengers to a depth of 30 meters. In general, "Toledo" is the deepest of the stations of the Neapolitan metro. And when you go up the escalator, you get the feeling that you are among the rocks. This effect is due to the unusually laid wall tiles and mosaics.

"Cave" station in Munich

Westfriedhof station, located on the border of two districts in Munich (Germany), initially did not look particularly remarkable, but it was worth hanging here in 2001 huge lamps that shine in different colors (yellow, blue and orange-red), like this subway station immediately gained popularity with tourists, photographers and advertisers as one of the most extravagant in the world. Moreover, CNN has included Westfriedhof in the top five most beautiful metro stations.

The multi-colored lighting (by the way, part of the platform is exposed to sunlight) makes the Westfriedhof station look like a fairytale cave. By the way, the diameter of each lamp is about four meters.

"Fire" station in Stockholm

The station "Solna-centrum", located near the shopping center of the municipality of Solnum in Stockholm (Sweden), was nicknamed "fiery" for a reason. The fact is that when you get inside, you get the feeling that tongues of flame or fiery lava are hanging over you.

It is interesting that such an original subway station appeared in the Swedish capital back in the 70s of the last century.

Solna-Sentrum was built in rock at a depth of 27-36 meters. The author of its decoration is Karl-Olov Bjork (1975) and Anders Aberg (1975, 1992). On the platform itself, the walls are painted in red and green, in addition, here you can see drawings dedicated to social problems and nature conservation. These themes were popular in the 1970s, and they are still relevant today.

"Golden" station in Riyadh

The metro, which is scheduled to open in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) this year, is already unique in itself. Due to the specifics of the local climate, the tunnels and subway cars will be equipped with enhanced air conditioning and sand protection, and the design of the new metro stations follows the silhouettes of local sand dunes.

The station located in the financial district of King Abdullah and which received the corresponding name - King Abdullah financial district will also be executed in a wave-like futuristic style.

It is planned that it will serve three metro lines at once (and this, respectively, six railway platforms). The station was designed by architect Zaha Hadid, a Pritzker Prize laureate and the author of many iconic objects realized in different countries of the world.

But the main distinguishing feature of this already fantastic metro station is the gilded plates that will adorn the lobby.

Before construction began, it was announced that the project was funded by the prince of Saudi Arabi himself and that the station would be one of the most expensive in the world.

"Bright" station in Naples

Station "Universita" (University), also located in Naples, is so vibrant in terms of the variety of colors that it seems as if someone splashed it from giant tubes of multicolored paints.

The play of colors (the design is dominated by pink, orange, green and blue tones) makes the interior incredibly extravagant, and the stylized images of molecules remind of the "scientific" component, because the station is located near the local university.

The author of the project is the architect of Anglo-Egyptian origin Karim Rashid. It was also he who invented to depict on the stairs of the Universita station a portrait of the Italian poet and theologian Dante Alighieri and his beloved.

Station with "Kaleidoscope" in Kaohsiung

At the three-level Formosa Boulevard station in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a bright Dome of Light is installed instead of a ceiling. Its diameter is 30 meters, and it consists of multi-colored glass, for which it received such a name among the people. The translucent dome is very reminiscent of a giant kaleidoscope.

The area covered by the surface of glass panels is 2,180 meters (4, 5 thousand fragments), and this panel is considered the largest piece of art made of glass in the world. The author of the mosaic is the artist Narcissus Kvolyata.

Another impressive but almost unknown feature of the station is the four glass pedestrian crossings that lead from street level down to the station. They were designed by the renowned Japanese architectural company Shin Takamatsu Architect & Associates.

By the way, Formosa Boulevard is the only metro station in Kaohsiung.

As you know, Moscow also has extravagant metro stations. However, there are so many of them that they probably deserve a separate rating.