Tunnel Vision is three-dimensional image of the iconic Harry Weese-designed coffered metro stations that make up Washington’s transit network.

A layered cone ten feet high and 14 feet in diameter suspended 10 feet above the floor, the artwork is both an iconic object and an immersive environment, evoking both the identity and experience of riding the metro system and the technical and organizational accomplishment of Metro and its employees.

Positioned in the southwest corner of the lobby, the installation is visible from all sides: the street and entry vestibule to the south, plaza to the west, lobby interior to the east and finally from the floor and seating below.

From each of these viewpoints, the artwork alludes to the Metro stations in dramatically different ways: from the side as a convex object that loosely evokes the coffered stations and Metro's gridded logo, and from below as a concave volume making the station clearly visible and emphasizing its dramatic one-point perspective.

Section looking SW Section looking NE

This project was funded by WMATA as part of a capital project for the new Metro VA Office Building.

Printed and cut aluminum panel before assembly

Project Team: Zane Mechem, Luiza De Souza

Photography by Kevin Kunstadt