Right now, in Metro's 80 existing stations, there are "more than one thousand design variations, from architectural differences to a range of trash cans and paint colors," but the agency's looking to streamline a little: The next wave of Metro stations will share a "signature look" by using a set of rearrangeable elements that will give each above-ground, elevated, and underground station a unified, recognizable appearance, so you know a Metro station when you see one. Most prominently, according to the LA Times, each station entrance will feature an overhang of "fused ceramic and glass," but consistency will extend into the stations, too, and riders can expect that everything inside every station will look the same, regardless of which line they're on. That'll make way-finding easier, but it will also help keep maintenance costs down. There will still be art installations to give each station "a unique sense of place," says Johnson Fain, the firm designing the "kit of parts" that will be the basis of the new stations.



The new station design will debut on the Crenshaw Line, the Purple Line extension, and the Regional Connector by 2023, but not the Gold Line extension east to Azusa or the Expo Line to Santa Monica, which are already in the works.

· Metro Rail Stations Are Being Planned With Design In Mind [LA Times]