What if we redefine the city by moving all transportation underground? Who gains/loses privileges?
With central Oslo as a case, Minh Nghiem imagines a future of mobility where transport is streamlined, underground, and land over ground is left to pedestrians and nature
The provotype sparked many questions and discussions, ranging from whether the travel would be comfortable, the advantage of it not being affected by weather conditions, time saving effects, direct routes to hospital emergency rooms, etc.
When we bring up their ownership form, the conversation then gets more in-depth. Is it a public/ shared or a private elevator-car, and how does it function? If it were private, it would result in the same issue with cars that we are currently experiencing, and there would be an increasing number of elevator-cars in that configuration until the entire system was overloaded.
Minh Nghiem
We had discussions about urban spaces and how we design them today.
Everything is predetermined, roads, highways, parking lots are designed for vehicles. They shape space, shape the way we move, communicate. The remaining lands with clear, sometimes rough and boring borders are for human use. We design the spaces to live, work, study, and play within those boundaries. Architects and designers depend entirely on boundaries, which are created for vehicles only.
An imaginary future where mobility will be separated from the ground, (perhaps above or underground) could be the solution to reclaiming living space, putting people at the center of the design. Buildings will be shaped to their liking, public spaces where people gather will be shaped according to the needs of people in the area without worrying about intersections with traffic. Children can go out and play anywhere without worrying about safety.
That will change the urban landscape completely
Minh Nghiem
The scenario builds on the idea of roads as limiting, traffic that hinders human movement and the prioritisation of cars in the cityscapes. Simultaneously, the pod system expresses the ideal of efficiency, work, and productivity. Does it perpetuate the current narratives and become dystopian? Or could we gain something, take back the urban spaces if cars are not present?