OK, This Is Undeniably Cool

The New Republic's excellent blog on urban policy, "The Avenue," introduced me to what's one of the coolest things I've seen recently: A piano staircase installed in a subway station in Sweden. Its intent -- to encourage people to walk more often than riding the escalator, and be healthier -- may be difficult to achieve, but it's a wonderful example of how design can make the urban landscape a more joyful, playful place. Good for Volkswagen, the project's sponsor, for supporting such free-thinking fun.

The video has also separately made its way around my classmates' e-mail accounts and one says the Museum of Science T stop has something similar, though I've never been. The Kendall Square station, the closest in the system to MIT, has a fun feat of engineering above the tracks to create a clatter that's worth discovering.