This station is the intersection of the Red and Orange MRT Lines. With a diameter reaching 140 meters, this is the world's largest station with a round structure. As early as the preliminary planning stage, the theme was set on the simultaneous showcasing of the historic Red Line and the oceanic Orange Line, with the purposes of building it into the future landmark of Kaohsiung. The four entrances of this station are designed by the Japanese architect Shin
Takamatsu. Utilizing the local history and its environmental situation, the design resembles two hands held together in a praying position. The station gives off a different aura during night and day, bringing serenity and a sense of peace to the residents. Besides praying for the prospect of Kaohsiung, it also allows generations afterwards to build a future full of hopeful yet practical dreams.
The expansive plaza of this station sits inside the busiest city center of Kaohsiung. In order to avoid the cold image of a cement forest, the cooling tower, ventilation shaft and handicapped elevator all take the shapes of ships and imitates the rhythm of a rolling wave. Anyone who visits will empathize with the unique atmosphere of this harbor city, showcasing the condensing yet radiating characteristics of the MRT.
To showcase the enthusiastic personality of Kaohsiung, the domed hall of Formosa Boulevard Station was specially designed by the world renowned artist Narcissus Quagliata. He combined the classics of different pieces of art created with glass and the technology in creating glass, and created the largest one-piece public artwork made from glass - The Dome of Light. It brought a brand-new aesthetic to the harbor city, and making the station one of the newest tourist attraction.
The Dome of Light took 4 years to construct, personally supervised by Master Quagliata, made in Germany then shipped here to be installed. The theme of the Dome is separated into 4 main areas, and going in the clockwise direction; it goes as following: water - the nurture of life; earth - prosperity and growth; light - the creative spirit; fire - destruction and rebirth. It is a story of men.
This large-scale public art that takes on the theme of "love and forgiveness" has a diameter reaching 30 meters. After all the glass artworks are gathered, the artisans manually fabricated each and every line on the dome, according to the 1:1 drawing by Master Quagliata. Showcasing the thousand years accumulation of the art of glasswork, it is the largest glasswork in the world. The completion and opening of the Dome of Light pushes the already exalted Master Quagliata to new height.
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