Vito Acconci \\ Sculptural subway entrance

New York City is a unique city for architecture,  within its fabric there is a place for everything from iconic structures to what some refer to as progressive, contemporary or experimental architectural ideas. Its fun to walk or drive around and see things you've only seen in books or didn't realize was even there.  Here's an  example of that, I noticed this train stop at Coney island a few weeks back and took some quick shots of it before we left. 

subway entrance for the elevated F/Q trains at Coney Island

West 8th Street-New York Aquarium

VITO ACCONCI (ACCONCI STUDIO)

Wavewall, 2005

Steel, ceramic tile, granite, fiberglass

The inspiration for the station's design was local sites - the historic Coney Island boardwalk and Cyclone roller coaster, the aquarium next to the station, and area beaches. The station is on the approximate site of a former roller coaster ride. The architect, wanted to transform the exterior station walls in a unique way. Working with the architects, artist Vito Acconci developed an architectural treatment for the station façade that is full of life. As in successful collaborations, there is no clear delineation between the architecture and the art.

Before rehabilitation, the windscreens blocked ocean views; the new windscreens open up the platform view of the Atlantic Ocean. In the artist's words, "The normally horizontal and vertical steel windscreen tubes and panels have been transformed into a more sinuous form that evokes the notion of a wave, or that of motion as in the Cyclone or the subway itself." The result is a striking and unique subway station that fits into its special surroundings. (via...)