ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[panamaniac]

Would you prefer drab and functional, then? Perhaps grey and Soviet-functional-esque? Public art makes a city or region nicer to live in and gives it character - or helps to expand upon the character already there.  I'm all for a 1% rule of thumb.

The Soviet Union and other communist states paid a lot of attention to public art. Moscow’s metro, for instance, has extensive artwork at each station, and so do transit systems in other formerly communist cities. There’s no dearth of public art in squares and other public places in formerly communist countries.

I prefer functionally aesthetic, personally, and think things should be designed with aesthetics in mind at every step, rather than designed functionally with public art shoe-horned in at the end. I’ve never heard of this 1% rule of thumb. That strikes me as a fairly reasonable guide, though I can’t be sure. But I don’t think anyone taking the time to post here is hoping for anything “drab and functional.”

I tend to agree and in the case of ION, I'd be very happy if the public art were simply visible from each station (or along the route) rather than being installed as part of the station platforms.  For example, the pool/fountain at the corner of Charles and Gaukel cries out for a piece of sculpture - putting it there rather than on the platform across the street would be fine, imho.