The new CrossRail station at Tottenham Court Road is due to open in 2018 to provide service for one of the busiest and most vibrant quarter of London. The diversity of Soho and its 24 hour vitality have been captured by the visual artist Eduardo Paolozzi and reflected into the mosaics that enrich the experience of the current tube station. The proposal looks at the development of arts on the underground and the inevitable danger of digitization and advertising taking over.
Through fusing together the technology and the tactile in the form of a digital mosaic, the project aims to engage the passengers of the tube not just as passers by but as performers and creators of their own “stage”. The modular pieces respond to the flow of people and reveal themselves by opening with the steps of people on the pavement. Each module provides space for a lighting, sound or digital component, thus allowing for a vast diversity and continuous change of the scheme.
