During the K Line project’s public engagement process, each community where a station would be located conveyed a desire to have the station reflect the neighborhood’s unique culture and personality. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority sought to achieve that goal while also promoting consistency in basic elements that would enhance user recognition and maintenance.

HNTB implemented a “kit of standards” that established station design uniformity on the K Line, while also allowing for community-specific artwork to be installed at each location.

“The at-grade stations are among the first to use Metro’s new kit of standards for design elements, which are intended to bring an overall theme and consistency to Metro’s stations,” said Chris Devery, HNTB project manager. “The feel of the stations is standardized in the canopies, surrounding glass, the layout of the ticket vending machines, the kiosks and signage, and then customized with local artwork.”

Metro held a nationwide contest to choose the artists whose work would be commissioned to appear at the stations’ plaza, concourse and platform levels. Final artist selection was story driven. Competing artists had to explain in interviews how their proposed artwork told a story specific to a Crenshaw Boulevard community. Artists also engaged in community activities with residents and organizations served by the K Line.

Fourteen artists were chosen, and riders now can experience new station landmarks that showcase the personalities of individual neighborhoods and cultures.

Go to the full Designer Story - Crenshaw Rises on Rail