Improving Cities by Prioritizing the Human Experience: Takeaways from the 2018 Innovation Conference
For the hundreds of architects and others who gathered at New York University’s law school auditorium on November 1 for Architectural Record’s annual Innovation Conference, the day served as a crash course of sorts. Titled “Urban Futures: Architecture at Every Scale,” the event showcased the insights and work of a diverse group of professionals, presenting a wide range of ways that technology is set to transform cities across the globe.
Kicking off the conference, Andy Cohen, co-CEO of Gensler, focused on the reality of a future with fewer cars (attributable to the rise of autonomous vehicles and services like Lyft and Uber) and the implications for the built environment. For example, buildings will soon need larger pick-up and drop-off areas but far fewer parking spaces; Gensler is already advising clients who require parking to build above-ground structures that can be converted to hotels or offices. On an urban scale, millions of acres now devoted to parking will also be repurposed, potentially as green space. Given the design possibilities, Cohen said, “This is a crucial moment for everyone in the room.”
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