“Passage” was designed by Tom Patti in tandem with the architects, FX + FOWLE, as an integral part of the station. It features trapezoidal-shaped windows fitted into the steel so they can be opened and allow air into the platform. The laminated, impact-resistant security glass is layered with a plasma composite material to break up light into the colors of the spectrum. Patti said that “Passage” is influenced by the markets, flowers, and colors on the nearby streets. Patti pioneered the integration of industrial and architectural glass into art. "The ability of glass to occupy several physical states - transparent, opaque, dense, solid, weightless - all altering our spatial boundary - challenges me," he said. All the components of “Passage” were handmade in his studio. For Patti, this act of craftsmanship was critical to ensure the integrity of all elements. 

Artist and designer Tom Patti earned a BFA and an MFA in industrial design from Pratt Institute, studied perception theory at the New School for Social Research, and studied glass at the Penland School of Craft. Overlapping with his time as student, Patti was also involved in an avant-garde group of multi-disciplinary artists, including Robert Rauschenberg. The group, Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), collaborated with scientists and engineers to explore the relationship of art to science and technology. That pursuit has remained the predominant theme in Patti’s work. Focusing on nontraditional materials, such as industrial sheet glass and plastic, Patti manipulates materials to create unexpected spatial voids and depths. Patti’s fascination with art and science is expressed through works that manipulate scale and perception.