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407 Station a 'mixing bowl' of transit

The “mixing bowl” is a multi-storey space at 407 Station that will gather in passengers from three lines of transportation converging at this hub — the TTC, YRT and GO.

A preview of six new TTC subway stations

Michelle Adelman · CBC News ·
Glazing to the bus terminal is bird-friendly fritted glass in black aluminum curtain wall framing. Cornice and roof overhang soffits are clad in zinc-coated aluminum panels. (Used with permission of the Toronto Transit Commission)

Art will blend with architecture in the six new subway stations now taking shape along the TTC's Spadina Extension subway line, set to open in the fall of 2016. 

In this series, CBC looks at each of the six stations in more detail.

407 Station

Architects: AHR (formerly Aedas), London, with AECOM, Toronto

Artist: David Pearl, Toronto

The “mixing bowl” is a multi-storey space at 407 Station that will gather in passengers from three lines of transportation converging at this hub — the TTC, YRT and GO.

'A simple palette of expressive coloured glass works with the dynamic of natural light and the movement of the observer to animate the space and interior surfaces,' says station artist David Pearl. (Used with permission of the Toronto Transit Commission)

The glass of its oval skylight is painted with a 100-ft.-long broad liquid-colour brushstroke by artist David Pearl. A coloured glass wall façade and glass panels on all station escalators are the other components of his work.

The skylight’s brushstroke, suggestive of the gesture of a hand, will tint the light that reaches this station’s platforms.

Coloured glass allows natural light to be seen throughout the concourse. (Used with permission of the Toronto Transit Commission)

Art that never changes risks becoming invisible with familiarity, so Pearl strove to create a dynamic work, one that would change with the angle of the sun and weather conditions.

Wide hallways, four escalators and accompanying stairs allow for more capacity than an average station. (Used with permission of the Toronto Transit Commission)

Up to 80 per cent of riders will use a subway station every single day. Depending on the time of year, 7 a.m. could be anything from pitch black to brightly sunlit. “It’s interesting to play with that actual dynamic of light coming into the building so that the artwork is changing the nature of the architectural experience,” said Pearl.

The concourse of the station is a multi-storey space with a view out through a bank of sloped art glass windows looking toward Jane Street. (Used with permission of the Toronto Transit Commission)

Pearl says the cost of adding art to any building or infrastructure project to create beauty in our environment is so small, that he is surprised whenever the issue is raised. “Why don’t people question how expensive it is to put up traffic lights, because it costs a fortune,” he said.

The station is located in Vaughan, just west of Jane Street and south of Highway 407 on the west bank of Black Creek. (Used with permission of the Toronto Transit Commission)

Pearl says Toronto is a beautiful city that is constantly trying to tell itself it can’t continue to be that way, but of course it can.

Read about the rest of the Spadina Extension subway line:

Michelle Adelman is a fellow in global journalism at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

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