When you live in a smaller town or big city, you are usually surrounded by buildings made of concrete, glass, plaster/stone or wood. It’s difficult to spot technical innovation. The fascinating part: Some of it is hiding in plain sight.
In the general flow of everyday life the word rarely pops into my mind. But when it does, I find it highly accurate and satisfying. It describes an idea, situation or potential that can hardly be conveyed by any other term.
Design in public transportation is so fascinating because it can shine a light on a variety of issues in current public discourse: Usually deployed in large-scale projects, design choices often reflect careful consideration of the Zeitgeist, public norms of aesthetics, changes in transportation infrastructure and avant-gardist glimpses or concepts of what an imagined general public space might look like.
Design in public transportation is so fascinating because it can shine a light on a variety of issues in current public discourse: Usually deployed in large-scale projects, design choices often reflect careful consideration of the Zeitgeist, public norms of aesthetics, changes in transportation infrastructure and avant-gardist glimpses or concepts of what an imagined general public space might look like.
»The master looked on with admiration and indulgence as a worker and citizen allowed himself to take pleasure in unprofitable arts. The mistress, however, observed these signs of a worldly art of living with the discerning interest of a connoisseur. Her gaze rested attentively on his long, delicate hands, unmarred by any heavy labor.«
(translated from German)
