FRIEZE NEW YORK 2013
INTERNATIONAL HOME + HOUSEWARES SHOW 2013
TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2012
BEIJING DESIGN WEEK 2012
This is one of those concepts where I think the general idea is sound, but the particulars are not. Nevertheless, it's a good 1.0 of something I'd love to see the 2.0 and 3.0 versions of.
San-Francisco-based architect Aaron Cheng's entry in the James Dyson Award competition is called the Pneumatic Shelter. It utilizes inflatable structures to solve the urban issue of not having enough parking spaces.
Function The goal for this design aims to solve the space utilization problem by creating a new building type where housing and parking are integrated into one. During daytime, the housing units are compressed to create spaces for parking, while at night, the process reverses with parking turning back into living quarters via a pneumatic structure.Inspiration
Limited spaces with ever growing population in major metropolises like New York significantly lower people's standard of living. One of the main issues with these cities is the poor utilization of certain spaces. Parking garages, for example, are occupied during daytime while emptied at night time. Apartments, which are empty during daytime, suffer from the same usage efficiency problem.Development
The Pneumatic Shelter is the key in the development. This involves inflating an ETFE skin with air, inflated from the permanent utility module or hand pump. This unique structure system allows the project to transform from living space to parking space and vice versa.
See it in action:
My key criticism is that people's living spaces are not consistently empty, particularly in this age when technology is giving us ever-more flexible schedules and options for where we can work. I think in order for Cheng's concept to come together, it needs to target areas that are mandatorily vacated on a consistent and ironclad schedule: Municipal institutions, public schools, retail environments, et cetera.
Furthermore, I was going to say Cheng's concept could be applied to prisons, where cells could be made to give way to the mess hall or exercise yard—but I just realized no one wants to place hardened criminals in inflatable cells.
This is the part where I ask you for your suggestions for applications.
Comments
Or we could just stop being so abjectly lazy, and park in underground multi-storey car-parks a couple of minutes walk from our homes.
As someone who has "lived" in a van, a Passat, a tent on city land, a 7x10' studio with a murphy bed and on countless livingroom sofas, I fully agree with your concern: converting one's space, folding it all up for "later" is not living. It is an existence, sure, a place to sleep or read or whatever. But there is no decompression. If you aren't nesting to a palpable degree, you aren't living.
wake up and get out, or we'll crush you
Where do you park your own car?
This seems like an elaborate "solution" to a simple problem. People who live in citys need to stop driving huge cars, especially for commuting to work alone. Utilize public transit, or ride a bike. If you have to use a car buy a tiny one that multiple of fit into one regular space. We can't keep designing around our old means of transportation because we're too lazy. Also where does the furniture go? what if someone wants to stay home? Don't over complicate the problem. Some wise words someone told me once were, keep it simple stupid.
Great idea in theory. But I think that's all it is.
Inflatable cars and hover-parking; guy on the bottom pays the meter!
The author of this article posted by hipstomp doesn't quite understand the concept. Parking + Housing project is not to 'solve the urban issue of not having enough parking spaces.' but to fully utilize the parking space during the night. Please read through the diagrams and introduction before post your article.
It has two parts which functions separately: the Parking part serves as a typical automated garage for those drive to work, and the Housing part is designed for a particular group of people: low-income or mid-income people who have to work from 8am to 6pm in most cases, thus their houses will automatically be vacated for parking during the day time. If they want to stay during the daytime, they may have to pay for extra rent for taking the parking space.