Category Archives: CITIES

TALK #5 | CITIES

Larry Chan, Principal, Chan Architecture + Urban Planning
Anne-Catrin Schultz, Associate Professor, Architecture, Wentworth

Larry Chan Title Slide

In FutureLab Talk #5 Larry Chan, from Chan Architecture & Urban Planning, took us through a discussion on urban design and planning. The discussion focused on the effects of social distancing and increasing space as well as defining the limits of urban design in order to keep cities accessible to those from lower incomes, age and those who have immigrated into the United States. Larry’s keys to re- entering and designing cities require will, creativity, and funding. Larry has a wealth of interdisciplinary insights and philosophical underpinnings when approaching cities and urban planning and he provided thought-provoking concepts.

TALK #6 | CITIES

Tom van Arman, Founder & Director, TAPP/Netherlands

Tom van Arman Titleslide

In FutureLab Talk #6 Tom van Arman [TAPP] shares smart city solutions especially in light of COVID-19. He is an architect and urbanist based in Amsterdam who works with local governments, industry leaders, and maker-communities to create living labs. In 2010 Tom founded Tapp, an award winning agency enabling local governments and industries to become leaders in bottom up digital revolution. Using agile and lean start-up methodologies, Tapp works with public and private partners to rapid prototype solutions to solve urgent urban problems. In 2018 Tom co-founded CITIXL (City Innovation Exchange Lab) to share solutions with municipal partners from around the world. By utilizing living-labs, city officials can reduce risks and costs while empowering their citizens to co-create easy, simple and effective solutions for a more participatory process to think, create, share and nurture future cities.

Hyper-Local Micro-Markets

Rotterdam, Netherlands, Shift Architecture Urbanism
https://www.shift-au.com/projects/hyperlocal-micromarket/


A new focus on neighborhood markets is a proposal being tested in Rotterdam but the project’s simplicity and ability to be easily reproduced will allow it to be easily applied universally. Hyper-local micro-markets present a new opportunity to utilize outdoor public space and create pop-up market opportunities that can help establish social distancing as normal behavior and something we can embrace rather than resist. By creating markets that serve local populations, this cultural shift may promote small businesses to grow around these spaces and create a higher incentive to invest in your own neighborhood rather than supporting large corporations that do not live within and support these small communities. It also promotes more sustainable means of acquiring fresh produce by promoting urban farming to reduce the costs of transporting these goods and ensuring the people are receiving produce directly off the plant.

The Post-Pandemic Hotel

London, UK, The Manser Practice
https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/british-architecture-firm-proposes-a-plan-for-an-ideal-post-pandemic-hotel/

"No Contact Hotel Check-in
The post-pandemic hotel in the immediate future may focus on contactless interactions between guests and staff, clean spaces, one-way walkways, and health check-ins. Technology will play a larger role in checking in and out of hotels, navigating the space and services. In the long-term rethinking structurally the layout of hotels may be needed to assure safety. This may include different guest travel patterns within the hotel, remote room delivery, re-introducing the paternoster, an elevator system from the 20th century, and expanded rooms to include exercise and work nooks. Thinking further The Manser Practice even envisioned a “quarantine hotel” with self-sufficient “utility pods” for travelers stuck in foreign countries during a pandemic.

Strade Aperte Plan

Milan, Italy
www.theguardian.com/world

Plans for Corso Buenos Aires before and after the Strade Aperte project.
Milan’s Strade Aperte Plan includes “low-cost temporary cycle lanes, new and widened pavements, reduced speed limits, and pedestrian and cyclist priority streets” as a strategy that many different cities are considering and implementing. It will increase space for pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorized means of transportation, while also reducing traffic congestions and positively impacting air pollution. Typically this involves redesigning the space available re-assigning roads and re-organizing how lanes are assigned. While allowing for social distancing, the re-organization also contributes to a reduction of air pollution.

Superblocks

Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, Montreal
https://www.mtlblog.com/news/canada/qc/montreal/rosemont-la-petite-patrie-is-creating-superblocks-to-give-pedestrians-lots-more-space

Arial View of Rosemont-La_Petite_Patrie, Montrial
Another project dedicating more space to pedestrians by shifting its urban organization and programming this pilot project in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie in Montreal limits a series of blocks to local traffic only, dedicating more space (and giving priority) to pedestrians and cyclists to access schools, parks and local businesses. The project was inspired by Barcelona’s Superblock model.

Super Lock System - Baseline Situation and graphic with Superblocks model

Project 21

Charleston, South Carolina, Futrex inc.
faculty.washington.edu

Mono Beam
A concept thought of before the 1980s. Flyda developed and designed the idea of a heightened track system. Out of the way, these trains would be able to cruise through inner cities. It poses a public transit alternative for dense cities with already overcrowding public transportation systems that can’t be easily retro-fitted to handle safety and heatlh requirements. It could also be envisioned in combination with sanitation technology and separate seating pods.

PERSONAL SOLAR POD TRANSIT

Texas, Dave Owsen
https://www.wired.com/2010/04/solar-powered-pods-bring-privacy-to-public-transportation/


Criteria used to assess innovations: Eco-friendly, safe public transportation

The Community Transit design study is an overhead rail system promoting personal pods as means of public transportation while maintaining social distance. It is powered by solar energy and suggests two rails alongside each other. This will allow the pods to stop only when desired and pods advancing can simply pass the stop and passengers can ride directly to their destination. The solar pods that don’t get used for travel can be used for packages and other parcels that need to be delivered in the city which could help eliminate delivery traffic on roads.

MASECZKOMAT | COVID VENDING MACHINE

Siemianowice Dobre Bo Śląskie, Poland
https://www.themayor.eu/en/mask-and-hand-sanitizer-vending-machines-appear-in-southern-poland

PPE Vending Machine inside

The vending machine offers masks and hand sanitizers at reasonable prices to residents. They are easily accessible and can be placed flexibly across locations in the city as well as in public and office buildings. This concept could expand to offer additional supplies such as antibody testing or utilized for completely different purposed that respond to local needs.