MOBILITY HUB
2019
Project:
MAD Think Tank, Design Studio ZHdK
Collaborators:
BMW GroupQuade & Zurfluh
ZHdK Design Studio:
Kevin Brunner, Clara Iversen, Suntka Rinke, Felix Schulze, Stefan Thomet
In cooperation with Quade & Zurfluh and the BMW Group, our team of six Master Design students at the Zurich University of Art and Design (ZHdK) was presented with a complex initial situation on the subject of smart cities. The task was to develop visions, options and new concepts for the future.
In a three-day “Mad Think Tank” we conceptualized and presented possible scenarios regarding mobility services for the public. This was done methodically using Design Fiction. The anchor point was a Mobility Hub concerning autonomous driving, alternative fuel vehicles, energy, connectivity (to other modes of transport), circulation (in and around the site), safety, proprioception (long term physiological effects), intermodal services (scooter sharing), business services, social transformations (aging, environment), maintenance, rush hour, customer experience (the function of the window as a premium interface to the physical world), visual perception, access etc.
We transformed a multi-storey car park in the city of Zurich (Parkhaus Sihlquai) into a Mobility Hub prototype by the means of storytelling, sketching and 3D-drawing. We looked at the site as a place of possibility and opportunity, with regard to what is already there (context). The team split up pursuing two directions: one with the hub as an “in-and-out”-place, the second as a place to stay, visit and live at. As all utopian projects have their dark side, we decided to start from the other end and create a dystopian scenario first. This helped with finding problems.
The project was wrapped up visually and conceptually in an 18-page project book. The scenarios sent warnings and provided insights into the most diverse levels of understanding of mobility – from travel comfort and convenience requirements to possible entertainment options, public transport and individual vehicles, to the question: hubs or no-hubs? The topic and the related needs of locomotive people were illuminated from all sides. It is self-explanatory that this topic can only be sketched out in three days and not finally clarified. Socially relevant questions were part of the process. The questions developed around the term Smart City therefore had very different approaches: What influence will future work models have on mobility? How does the progress of automatisation affect security? To name just two examples.