UNCHARTED
01: GARY HERSHORN/GETTY; 02: JEFFREY GREENBERG/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY; 03: ENRICO SPANU/ REDA&CO/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY; 04: CHRISTOPHER ASKEW/GETTY; 05: MARIO LAPORTA/AFP/GETTY 06: K’NUB/GETTY; 07: JACEK KADAJ/GETTY; 08: TOBY FORAGE/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET/GETTY; 09: SAM YEH/AFP/GETTY; 10: SAEED KHAN/AFP/GETTY
Rush hour isn’t known for its calm and beauty, but it doesn’t have to be an exercise in extreme patience either. Through stunning architecture and art installations, a trip through these spaces can be interesting, unique, even unsettling—and at the very least, far from mundane. From space-age designs to murals celebrating local history, artists and architects have transformed the simple subway, metro or tube station into contemplative and artistic spaces that may even encourage the use of mass transit. —Laura Powers