Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present “The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility” exhibition Dec. 14 through March 31, 2019. Featuring 40 projects that explore salient topics around the future of mobility and the urban environment, the exhibition will be punctuated with six provocations and a selection of design responses that reimagine livable streets and the way people, goods and services will move in a new age of connected and transformational mobility.
Organized by Cara McCarty, the museum’s director of curatorial; Cynthia E. Smith, curator of socially responsible design; and Julie Pastor, curatorial assistant, “The Road Ahead” addresses the fundamental question: how do people want to live? On view in the third floor Barbara and Morton Mandel Design Gallery, the exhibition examines accessibility, equity, trust, safety and security, the efficient movement and delivery of freight, smart infrastructure and the use of sidewalks and curb sharing. These challenges present a critical opportunity to pursue a new user-centered vision for streets and infrastructure to create more livable, inclusive and equitable cities, with services, ride-sharing and mass-transit solutions that minimize greenhouse gases and address the users’ needs.
“‘The Road Ahead’ points to several possible futures for our cities and asks audiences to consider how design will improve and expand options for urban transport,” said Cooper Hewitt Director Caroline Baumann. “Inviting our visitors to consider and creatively think about the possible outcomes provided by the revolutionary new technologies on the horizon—from grocery-delivering robots to autonomous shuttle services—the exhibition encourages public engagement in the civic dialogue needed to ensure that new designs for mobility are sustainable, equitable and life-improving for all.”
Visitors will be welcomed by “Sounds of the Future City,” an immersive sound experience created by Arup, which speculates on how cities might sound in the future as new technologies arrive in the public space. Additional works on view include Starship’s self-driving delivery robot; Zipline’s autonomous delivery drone; Höweler + Yoon’s Shareway concept for efficient mobility networks; FXCollaborative’s Public Square model for greener, more walkable and lively public space; Waymo’s sensing technology for autonomous vehicles to navigate roads safely; and Local Motors’ Accessible Olli, an autonomous shuttle accessible to people with physical and cognitive disabilities.
A selection of historic examples from Cooper Hewitt’s collection and the Smithsonian Design Library will highlight past visions of mobility, including a 1955 concept-car drawing from the office of General Motors and a 1939 booklet documenting the Futurama exhibit and ride at the New York World’s Fair.
“The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility” is made possible in part by support from the Ehrenkranz Fund, Barbara and Morton Mandel Design Gallery Endowment Fund, Lily Auchincloss Foundation Inc. and the August Heckscher Exhibition Fund.
EXHIBITION DESIGN
“The Road Ahead” is designed by Matter Architecture Practice. Exhibition graphics by Pure + Applied.
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
This winter, a series of educational programs will engage audiences of all ages in conversations and workshops about future mobility scenarios and how they might impact quality of life. Programs include curator-led tours, an intergenerational Morning at the Museum, evening panel discussions, a critique of university-level student projects, and professional development programs for educators. Visit cooperhewitt.org/events for registration details.
EXHIBITION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Rachel Abrams, Associate Principal, Foresight and Design Strategy, ARUP; Victor Calise, Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities; Adrian Corry, Co-founder, INOVINFO; Benjamin de la Peña, Deputy Director, Seattle Department of Transportation; Ben Ebel, Lead User Experience Designer, Customer Innovation Lab, Michelin; Paul Herzan, Vice President, Lilly Auchincloss Foundation; Chairman Emeritus of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Board of Trustees; Michael Kodransky, Director, Global & U.S. Initiatives, Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP); Micah Kotch, Managing Director, URBAN-X by MINI and Urban Us; Paul McConnell, Director of Design, Intersection; Mike Milley, Director of Foresight & Strategy, Designworks, A BMW Group Company; David Vega-Barachowitz, Senior Urban Designer, NYC Department of City Planning; Sarah Williams, Director of Civic Data Design Lab, MIT; and Susan Zielinski, Global Mobility Innovator.
ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM
Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the historic, landmark Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 210,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BCE to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world. Cooper Hewitt knits digital into experiences to enhance ideas, extend reach beyond museum walls, and enable greater access, personalization, experimentation and connection. In 2018, the London Design Biennale awarded a medal to Cooper Hewitt for its presentation “Face Values,” an immersive installation that explores the pervasive but often hidden role of facial-detection technology in contemporary society.
Cooper Hewitt is located at 2 East 91st Street at Fifth Avenue in New York City. Hours are Sunday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden, accessible without an admissions ticket, opens at 8 a.m., Monday through Friday. The Tarallucci e Vino café is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Public transit routes include the Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6 subways (86th or 96th Street stations), the Second Avenue Q subway (96th Street station), and the Fifth and Madison Avenue buses. Adult admission, $16 in advance via tickets.cooperhewitt.org, $18 at door; seniors, $10 in advance via tickets.cooperhewitt.org, $12 at door; students, $7 in advance via tickets.cooperhewitt.org, $9 at door. Cooper Hewitt members and children younger than age 18 are admitted free. Pay What You Wish every Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m. The museum is fully accessible.
For further information, call (212) 849-8400, visit Cooper Hewitt’s website at www.cooperhewitt.org and follow the museum on www.twitter.com/cooperhewitt, www.facebook.com/cooperhewitt and www.instagram.com/cooperhewitt.
FACT SHEET
PROJECTS FEATURED IN “THE ROAD AHEAD: REIMAGINING MOBILITY”
WHAT IS MOBILITY? HOW DO WE WANT TO LIVE?
SOUNDS OF THE FUTURE CITY, 2018
Arup (New York, New York, USA)
HOW MIGHT WE DESIGN EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION?
NEXT STOP, 2018
MIT Civic Data Design Lab (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
LIFE ON WHEELS, VIDEO INTERVIEWS, 2018
David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge (Half Moon Bay, California, USA)
HYPERLOOP ONE, 2014–present
Virgin Hyperloop One (Los Angeles, California, USA)
EQUITABLE MOBILITY, DETROIT 2030, 2017–18
College for Creative Studies (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
SHAREWAY 2030 CONCEPT, 2012
Höweler + Yoon (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
HOW MIGHT NEW MOBILITY SYSTEMS CHANGE THE DESIGN OF STREETS?
MOD, ADAPTIVE PARKING GARAGE, 2016
Gensler (Los Angeles, California, USA)
PUBLIC SQUARE, 2017
FXCollaborative (New York, New York, USA)
WIRELESS CHARGING PAD, 2012
WAVE (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
ELECTRIC COMMERCIAL VEHICLE CHARGING STATION, 2018
ChargePoint (Campbell, California, USA)
GO OUTDOORTABLE, 2017
Landscape Forms (Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA)
BLUEPRINT FOR AUTONOMOUS URBANISM, 2017
National Association of City Transportation Officials (U.S. and Canada)
SOLAR ROADWAYS PANELS, 2018
Solar Roadways (Sandpoint, Idaho, USA)
VIDEO: LOOP NYC, PATHWAY TO COMMUNITY, 2017
Produced by EDG (New York, New York, USA)
VIDEO: CITY DATA ANALYTICS: MODES OF TRAVEL & COMMUTER WALKING TIMES, 2017
Produced by Zaha Hadid Architects (London, UK) with data analysis by Habidatum (London, UK) for Walkable London exhibition
VIDEO: BUILD THE QUEENSWAY, 2015
Produced by EcoDeo (New York, NY, USA) for The Trust for Public Land (San Francisco, CA, USA)
SUNSET BOULEVARD CASE STUDIES, 2018
ArtCenter College of Design (Pasadena, California) and University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
HOW MIGHT MOBILITY BE A SERVICE?
WHIM MOBILE APP, 2015
Whim (Helsinki, Finland) and MaaS Global (Helsinki, Finland)
Courtesy of MaaS Global
i-ROAD ELECTRIC VEHICLE, 2013
Toyota Motor Corporation (Aichi Prefecture, Japan)
Courtesy of Toyota
FOLDING ELECTRIC SCOOTER, 2016
Designed by Péter Üveges
Manufactured by Moveo (Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary)
CANGURO MOBILITY ROBOT, 2018
Designed by Shunji Yamanaka
Manufactured by fuRo (Future Robotics Technology Center) (Chiba Prefecture, Japan)
VELOPLUS WHEELCHAIR TRANSPORT, 2016
Van Raam (Varsseveld, Netherlands)
ACCESSIBLE OLLI SHUTTLE, 2018
Local Motors by LMI (Phoenix, Arizona, USA) with IBM, CTA Foundation, and additional technology partners
ULTRAHAPTICS SENSORY INTERFACE, 2018
Ultrahaptics (Bristol, England, UK)
HOW MIGHT AUTOMATION CHANGE HOW GOODS ARE DELIVERED?
STARSHIP DELIVERY ROBOT, 2014
Starship Technologies (San Francisco, California, USA)
AUTONOMOUS DRONE DELIVERY SYSTEM, 2014
WorkHorse (Loveland, Ohio, USA)
ON-DEMAND DRONE DELIVERY SYSTEM, 2016
Zipline (Half Moon Bay, California, USA)
FREIGHT PLATOONING SYSTEM, 2017
Peloton Technology (Mountain View, California, USA)
HOW MIGHT WE DESIGN NEW MOBILITY EXPERIENCES?
THE FLOAT CONCEPT VEHICLE, 2017
Designed by Yuchen Cai, University of the Arts London for Renault Car of the Future Contest (Boulogne-Billancourt, France)
PERSUASIVE ELECTRIC VEHICLE, 2014
MIT Media Lab, City Science Group (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
THE FUTURE OF AUTOMOBILITY, 2014, 2017
IDEO (Palo Alto, California, USA)
MORAL MACHINE, 2016
MIT Media Lab (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA), Scalable Cooperation Group
AV COMMUNICATION PANEL, 2018
Drive.ai (Mountain View, California, USA)
WAYMO, SENSOR VISUALIZATION, 2018
Waymo (Mountain View, California, USA)
VIDEO: AIM: A VISION FOR HEALTHCARE IN THE AGE OF AI, 2017
Produced by and courtesy of Artefact (Seattle, Washington, USA)
VIDEO: TOYOTA e-PALETTE CONCEPT: A GLIMPSE OF FUTURE MOBILITY, 2018
Produced by and courtesy of Toyota Motor North America (Plano, Texas, USA)
VIDEO: MERCEDES-BENZ VISION URBANETIC: MOBILITY FOR URBAN AREAS, 2018
Produced by and courtesy of Daimler AG (Stuttgart, Germany)
HOW MIGHT SHARED DATA IMPROVE URBAN DESIGN?
LOS ANGELES MOBILITY DATA SPECIFICATION, 2018
The City of Los Angeles, led by the LA Department of Transportation (LADOT) and Information Technology Agency (ITA)
CITY SCANNER, 2017
MIT Senseable City Lab (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
CITYSCOPE, 2018
MIT Media Lab, City Science Group (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)
