Prague subway

Proposal for the visual appearance of the Prague metro station of the planned D line.

Artistic intervention in the metro station. Graphic collaboration – Jan Brož.

 

A graphic form of diagrams that visualize human life.

Heart rate EKG, eupnoea – breath, EEG electroencephalography, sleep – REM electroencephalography, standard blink rate is 9 to 13 per min. during daytime hours, when tired or sleep deprived 20 to 30 per min.

Linking the graphic form of diagrams that visualize human life.

The theme of the design of the Krč metro station was given by the client. It was related to the presence of the nearby hospital. For this reason, the artist thought about the possibility of relating to medical science and thematizing the life processes of the human body. Therefore, the dominant motifs are two interactive multidiagrams expressing the actual liveliness of man. These artworks are to be placed on the main viewing walls located above the train track.

These multidiagrams consist of four diagrams used in medicine to represent bodily functions in relation to the frequency behavior of a given phenomenon. When they merge with each other, a colorful ornament will be created, reviving the neutral grey walls forming the background. For example, a graph of the heartbeat will be red, the breathing rhythm blue, brain and nerve activity green, the phase of the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep golden, etc.

It is also important that these visual elements will interact with the arriving metro train. At the moment when the train is away from the station platform, the heart diagram made of LED tubes (similar to neon) will be in rest mode. However, the moment the train gets close enough, the sensors in the tunnel will pick it up and the heart diagram will start to display hear rate like in a hospital. The closer the train gets to the station, the quicker the heart rate.

Each of the graphs should be specified in a sign at the beginning and end of the platform. For example, the red graph as HEARTBEAT, the blue graph as BRAIN ACTIVITY, etc.

 

A view of the multidiagram visualization through the automatic glass door – the entrance to the train set.

 

Front view of multidiagram visualization.

 

Front view of multidiagram visualization.