Hexagon Is Traditional at Stations, but Square Has Advantages
By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 20, 2006
It sounded more like kitchen renovation than a Metro board meeting: Should the system keep its old flooring, the trademark six-sided terra cotta tiles, or switch to -- gasp! -- square tiles at stations?
The square tiles are easier to maintain, less slippery when wet and cost about the same. But the hexagonal tiles are distinctive. They're a part of Metro's original design and go back 30-plus years.
Tiles were up for discussion yesterday because Metro needs to replace cracking and leaking ones along with deteriorated concrete under them at the Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue stations, which opened in 1978. Many other older outdoor stations are going to need similar work over the next decade, and Metro is considering new designs for tiles at existing and future stations, such as those on the proposed Silver Line to Dulles.
Like other extreme makeover proposals at the transit agency -- allowing entertainment in subway stations, altering rail car cushion colors, replacing some escalators with stairs -- the idea produced lots of discussion about whether changing tiles would somehow alter the essence of Metro.
T. Dana Kauffman, who represents Virginia on the Metro board, was all for change as board members looked over samples of the proposed 12-by-12-inch porcelain tiles. He has slipped more than once on the platform tiles, he said, and when wet, they become especially treacherous.
"You go from walking to skating," he said.
Calling the change long overdue, Kauffman said the proposal would make Metro less of a "dark, slippery cave." He also said square tiles are easier to work with. "Having done two bathrooms and a foyer," he said, "I'd rather lay that tile than the hexagonal tile."
Chris Zimmerman, another Virginia board member, wasn't so sure. First, there was the color problem. The hexagonal tiles are terra cotta. But yesterday's samples were a speckled mauve. Metro staff said the tile manufacturers have promised that new tiles could be made to come in the same brick-red shade.
"I'd be interested in seeing the color match as closely as possible," Zimmerman said.
He also wanted to know: "Can they be cut into a hexagonal form?"
Currently, there is only one source for the six-sided tiles, said James Haggins, head of Metro's construction department.
A top official of the company that makes the square tiles said they could be cut into hexagons, "but, boy, it would be cost-prohibitive."
"You're talking about 18,000 to 20,000 square feet of tile on a platform. It's an awful lot of waste when you cut those corners," said John Penta, president of San Pietro Ceramics, an Argentine tile manufacturer.
Penta said he is checking to see whether a mold could be made to produce the six-sided shape.
Metro officials said maintenance was one reason to move from hexagons to squares. Fewer sides means fewer joints. Fewer joints means less water leakage damaging concrete below the tiles, said Ed Riley, Metro's chief architect.
Another reason was for the sake of passengers, who complain about slippery platform tiles more than almost anything else, officials said.
"I'm afraid more people are getting accustomed to broken tile rather than high-quality tile," said Dan Tangherlini, Metro's interim general manager.
In addition to Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue, 23 other Metro stations opened before 1984 and probably will need platform repairs, officials said.
The new tiles are larger than the hexagonal ones, more slip-resistant and less porous, officials said.
The New York City subway system has been using them for five years, officials said. If the board gives the new ones a thumbs up, Metro could "hitch its wagon" to New York and order them in bulk from the same manufacturer, Tangherlini said.
In the end, though, board members did what many homeowners do: They put off the decision for another day.
Board members authorized critical repairs of the underlying concrete at Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue. But they chose to get more opinions from the Riders Advisory Council before deciding what to do about the tiles.
"At the end of the day, it has everything to do with the shape," Tangherlini said. "It's not the original shape. It's a radical departure."
Although Metro could spend a lot of money to keep the original shape, Tangherlini said, he questioned whether that would be the best use of those funds.
"What people really want is safe, convenient, accessible and efficient transportation," he said.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.