RESEARCH
THE SPEED, A NEW DETERMINANT
Re-Modeling the Behavior of Speed as Infrastructure in the Hyperconected Urban Context
Roads and transportation have long been recognized as essential components of successful urban design. However, defining the characteristics and behavior of speed that is considered "reasonable" in modern cities remains a challenge. Cities were transformed by the advent of the car, with new road systems, especially highways, granting unprecedented freedom for journeys within vehicles. Few phenomena have influenced modern city planning as profoundly as the car, which reshaped citizens into drivers and led to the emergence of an auto-mobilized society. This socially hybrid transformation underscores the need to investigate speed as a physical, psychological, and sociological construct within the urban context, considering it a key determinant of urban design.
Reflecting on the speed of societies and the interplay of mobile and immobile structures in urbanization offers deeper insights, particularly from an architectural and mobility perspective. Conceptualizing speed as a framework that integrates intellectual, scientific, and poetic dimensions provides a collective lens for understanding the image of modern humanity.
The city is a complex structure, encompassing both the humanities and the emotional experiences shaped by thought and imagination. Representing speed requires an approach that is simultaneously theoretical and technical, where theory and experimentation are deeply intertwined with interdisciplinary studies. Could we imagine a city designed explicitly around speed? Or, when envisioning future cities, could speed become a primary design parameter, reshaping traditional methods of functional division or zoning? By considering speed as a structural and design parameter, we might begin to question whether today’s cities truly function effectively within this framework.
Connecting Speed to Future Mobility Contexts
To understand the relationship between speed and future mobility, it is essential to examine the origins of the car and its connection to the modern process. In my courses, we trace this relationship back to the Industrial Revolution, exploring the interplay between humanity and machines alongside the profound impact of mechanization. From there, we transition into the 20th century, analyzing art movements, architectural paradigms, and the imagery of movement to uncover the creative dynamics of the era and its demand for change.
For example, Futurism serves as a lens through which we explore how speed, combined with mental metamorphosis, shaped visions of the future during the modern period. The car, as conceived nearly a century ago, was not merely a means of transportation from point A to point B; it was an embodiment of speed. While various modes of travel could achieve the same goal, the car emerged as a necessity in a new industrialized and mechanized world that demanded speed as a vital parameter. This new life paradigm, driven by precision and efficiency, positioned the car as both a symbol of individualism and a harbinger of a faster, more dynamic future.
The Car as a Metaphor for Evolution
I view cars as metaphors for the evolution of humanity, reflecting the individual’s journey and the collective process of change. From the modern period to an undefined future, the car has continuously transformed, adapting to human needs. Rather than focusing on a singular car concept, I study its ongoing evolution and its dramatic influence on modern city planning. Beyond its emotional significance for individuals, the car has dominated cities physically, creating contradictions and challenges in urban life.
My research often delves into the impact of the car on urban contexts during the modern era. For instance, in my classes, we frequently discuss American cities like Los Angeles and Detroit, examining how their designs were shaped by the "car issue," where residents were often seen as drivers before being considered citizens.
The Future of Cars and Urban Contexts
The current trajectory of the car industry indicates that the coming decades will bring significant changes to car typologies. Unlike the past, where beauty, speed, and freedom were central to car design, future priorities will center on diversity, customization, and integration within urban contexts. The challenge lies in blending cars and speed with maximum customization, better adaptability, and improved integration, reimagining cars not only as mechanical objects but also as living archetypes within the urban fabric.
In this sense, speed—an intrinsic aspect of life—emerges as a fundamental determinant of the car, shaping new models for hyperconnected urbanism. Urban transformation, driven by auto-mobility, must integrate speed as a system, program, and design parameter for the future. Analyzing the dramatic impact of the car on city planning, before and after its advent, highlights the potential of speed to shape urban futures. Mechanization and automation have profoundly influenced our understanding of cities. What defines a city in this context? The conjunction of time and speed, which represents the modern city’s greatest dilemma, provides a possible answer, with the road as its semantic structure.
The Road as a Construct of Speed
The road, designed to enable speed, has acted as both a defining and disruptive force in modern cities. It constructs and deconstructs spaces defined by function, creating an abstract, accelerated image of the urban context. This dual role of the road as both infrastructure and barrier is a focal point of my research.
This project builds on historical analyses and contemporary urban phenomena, extending toward future-proof concepts. Final reporting may explore utopian design intersections that draw qualities from diverse mobile and immobile structures, addressing speed as an essential design determinant for the cities of tomorrow.
