STAND: Convenient Transportation Solutions
Inner city public transportation may have its problems, but it’s nothing compared to the inconvenient transportation services offered (or NOT offered) to those people living between the major arterials of cities. The lack of parking facilities along major transportation routes alone is irritation enough to force people to drive their entire commute rather than interchanging with public transport.
A solution to this ongoing problem might lie in the hands of a young designer from the University of Melbourne, Australia. In his ”Consuming 2032″ design studio, Timothy Moore proposed a unique transitional design that “in the short term increases the availability of parking by increasing the density of space allocated to car parking (vertical instead of horizontal). His concept is called STAND and is a strategy to “remove cars from street parking and garages into small and slender stands preparing the horizontal plane for a greater density of program.”
This is not just a short term solution for car parking however. Timothy’s “golden nugget” lies in the fact that these structures can be transformed into a variety of community spaces for a future when private car ownership is not the preferred method of mobility. His project aims to “reduce the consumption of movement by increasing density, which will lead to NO MOVEMENT.”
Once STAND is no longer used for car parking, it’s variety of flexible cell structures encourage services that had not previously been offered before in the local area. The concept helps reduce the need for transportation through the “provision of local services and facilities, as people no longer have to travel outside of their community to access such services.” These spaces may be used for commercial, recreational or even residential uses. STAND also encourages social community interaction by providing localized amenities that support local economy and networking opportunities.
STAND was focused on three sites, all with different proximities to the central business district of Melbourne, and will encourage more density by: establishing a precedent for new heights, freeing areas designated for parking, and encouraging new programs near residential communities.
Source: Eco Innovation Lab
