After travelling by metro through cities like London and Paris, I was sure I knew just what to expect from underground transport, but I was so wrong. Stockholm’s metro system, or the Tunnelbana in Swedish, is a different experience altogether. The underground here is clean and quiet and impressively, each station is covered in artwork. Murals, mosaics and sculptures can be found at every stop. They call it the “world’s longest art gallery”, over a hundred kilometers of public art.
As you travel around the city you’ll notice the art built into each station. Over 150 artists have been commissioned to contribute to the work, which means each stop has its own character; some crazy colourful, other dark and ominous. There’s also an app, SL ArtGuide, which gives you an audio guide of the main stations around central Stockholm.
Luckily for us at KTH, the tunnelbana station at the main KTH campus, called Tekniska Högskolan, is particularly special. It actually won the national architecture award when it was built in 1973. The artworks covering the walls, floors and ceilings of this station are done by the artist Lennart Mörk, playing on the theme of technology, science and the laws of nature (Pretty appropriate for the KTH stop!).
If you’re looking for more info about travelling around this city-scale art exhibition, you’ll find some great photos on our Instagram page, or an earlier blog post here with a handy guide to using public transport in Stockholm.
~ Declan