Team Members
Mehul Malhotra, Sung Wha Kang, Diane Liu and James Zhu.
My Key Contributions
Deep Research, Ideation and Storyboarding, Development of the Strand Concept, Planning of the Street and Tunnels, 2D and 3D Visualization of the Horizontal Strand Capabilities of the Street.
Why Sunset Strip?
Apart from the fact that the Sunset Strip is one of the most iconic streets in the world, we think that it is a street that has always embodied a form of responsiveness. It has also always set itself apart from most other streets, whether it was the music culture, the freedom or the transience.
What is the New Horizon?
The New Horizon is the coming together of new mobility and the new built environment for the benefit of the people and not the automobile.
How can we reimagine the Sunset Strip in 2050 as a street of, by and for the people?
By looking at different streets from all over the world we discovered that streets everywhere are such dynamic ever-changing systems, yet the infrastructure that creates them is always fixed. Could we create responsive streets through responsive infrastructure?
The Street Plan
Focusing on the main path of the strip and infrastructures that are tangential to it, we restructured the buildings to accommodate the new strands and mobility we're introducing to the strip.
Autonomous Vehicle Network Plan
Focusing on the main path of the strip, we needed to map out the various major and minor routes for AVs to reach the strip as well as plan the AV Hubs that could be used to pick up and drop off people.
The New Street
The New Sunset Strip is covered with a layer of the Strand; the heart of the Strip. This Strand can power the Strip as well as change it responsively to best serve the people. We understand that the Strip is also an important thoroughfare and thus the street can adjust itself to prioritize vehicles during the rush hours.
The Strand
The Strand can map people and cars because of the force they exert on the strand. It uses this data to understand the best times to change the street for people and mobility. The horizontal street and vertical facades are covered with the Strand. The strand is made of different layers based on the area of the strip as shown below.
Modes of the Street
A city that responds and changes based on its people's needs, so that the street is never obsolete again. A cultural hub that is inclusive, accessible and diverse where people are truly free to express themselves.
Mix Mode
Street adapts to create tunnels that allow cars to pass through and pedestrians to use the street freely.
Event Mode
Giving the street back to the people.
How are we creating this responsive surface?
Using the concepts of piezoelectric materials and 4D-printed material lattices that can shape-morph into complex and doubly curved structures in response to changes in temperature, we can create a surface that looks like interwoven strands which could be deformed to create organic surface changes to the benefit of the street. This is what we call the Strand.
The New Transportation
A city that responds and changes needs mobility that can serve the dynamic needs. 5 different modes of transport that help people move around on the Strip as well as help people get in and out of the Strip.
Micromobility
The vertical curtain walls can dispense disinfected micromobility to the people. People access this through Palm VeinScan Technology to ensure a secure, personalized and seamless experience.
The Responsive Sunset Strip