Our Future Moves
Your Voice
What can you do to influence the future?
This exhibition has been a snapshot of what the near future might involve, however the pace of change means that what might seem like daydreaming today may well be everyday life tomorrow. There are still many interesting questions to answer.
Will there be a need for road signs or traffic markings at all? We will be linked to a smart city in the future with information beamed to our devices and vehicles, connected cars will come as standard meaning they need less signage. However, what about pedestrians navigating a city of the future?
Think about how you travel? Will we be flying to work or taking a maglev tram? Will you be hopping on a scooter then a train, then a cycle just to get your shopping and ditching the car altogether. Will you even go food shopping or will it be delivered by drones or robots?
Urban airport model eVTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) designed by Urban Air Port®
This is a model of a transportable airport that can be packed into containers and set up anywhere in the world.
Hyundai Motor Group, Coventry City Council, Coventry University and the UK Government have partnered with Urban Air Port® to launch the world’s first site to demonstrate the potential of urban air mobility for the UK and worldwide. The Urban Airport trial will see the creation of an ultra-compact, rapidly deployable, multi-functional operations hub for manned and unmanned vehicles. It will provide aircraft command and control, charging and refuelling, cargo and passenger loading and other mission specific facilities all in the middle of the city centre. It will also be an innovative hub for future electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft for example, air taxis and autonomous delivery drones transporting people and cargo across cities.
Skyfarer Drone
These drones are used to deliver up to 10kg of cargo at once and have a range of 180km. They can cruise at up to 90kph and can take off and land vertically. They can be fully autonomous or be remotely piloted. Trails are underway that will see these carry medical or emergency supplies.
Have you thought about the changes needed in a post pandemic world? Helping the public feel safe to travel is something many companies are investing a lot of resources into. For train companies where numbers of journeys have dipped to the lowest in 150 years its important to make sure people know the steps they are taking to be safe. For Coventry University this means looking at autonomous pods as they think of ways to make sure transport systems are biologically safe to use as well.
Post Pandemic Pod
This ‘post-pandemic pod’ was proposed by Professor Paul Herriotts and the team at the National Transport Design Centre at Coventry University. The pod showcases a number of design ideas that could be used in most types of public transport, to ensure the journey is as COVID-safe as possible. The ability to summon the pod on your smartphone, configure the interior and know if it is clean before you get in, are among the features that could help restore trust. By doing so, we can get people back onto public transport and work towards a net zero carbon future.
Hydrogen Concept 2050
This commercial vehicle from Wave Industries is a future vision of how a delivery vehicle might look. Working within a fully connected and autonomous transport eco system, the vehicle would operate up to populous areas, and then deploy drones and bots for last mile delivery.
Cycling for Social Change
Coventry is famous for its inventors of cycles. It was here that English inventor, James Starley developed a cycle which still inspires designers today. At Coventry Transport Museum you can see a wide variety of cycles, made to meet the needs of different people and situations. As part of DesignLab Nation 2021, this display showcases new cycling ideas by Coventry’s next wave of cycle inventors.
DesignLab Nation is part of the V&A’s National Schools Programme, which aims to inspire the next generation of designers, makers and innovators. The programme brings together secondary schools in partnership with regional museums, designers, industries and the V&A to engage students and support teachers through in-depth design projects.
Over four days, Year 9 students from Barr’s Hill School and Whitley Academy worked with artist Julia Snowdin on the design challenge ‘Cycling for Social Change’. Young people were asked to find cycling based solutions to current social issues. Students had the opportunity to explore national and local museum collections, develop creative and critical thinking skills and work through different stages of the design journey.
Check out what some of Coventry University’s students think the future might look like.
Drawn from final year undergraduates from the School of Art & Design, six projects reflecting ideas for future living were selected for inclusion in the exhibition.
“The site is located at the corner of historical streets of Spon End and Arches Industrial Estate. Once a part of a lively and vibrant area, the site and its nearest neighbours became neglected and taken over by car workshops and furniture warehouses. The vast residential areas spreading far beyond the perimeter of the industrial ring surrounding the site have been left with no destination point for their inhabitants. Reflecting not only on the current state of the neighbourhood, but also on Coventry's rich industrial history, the project unravels a new direction for the people of Spon End, empowering them to come together and regain their space. Medialab Arches reaches back to the forgotten specialties Coventry was once famous for: the watchmaking, the ribbon weaving, the Coventry sky blue, the bicycle production and brings them back to the local artisans.
The main programme of the building relies heavily on collaboration, education and craftsmanship. Each artisan is assigned a workshop space and a shop, where they can produce and sell their crafts. A large collaborative space is also provided, for the artisans to brainstorm and create collections together. The public has an opportunity to learn about the forgotten crafts during weekly teaching events. Sustainability, community and democracy are the key, overarching principles of the project, influencing not only the programme, but also the structure. The recycled steel frame construction is entirely exposed, reminiscing the industrial era and tying with the concept of transparency and democratic design. The users of the building can experience and understand the structure as well as observe the artisans in their workshops.
The inauguration of the project is also a starting point for the transformation of the entire area, moving away from heavy industry and mass production to sustainable community growth. The function of some of the surrounding buildings is transformed to further accommodate for the various activities that the local community members might want to engage with. The neglected arches of the viaduct evolve into tiny independent shops and cafés, the car workshop becomes an indoor skatepark, the community centre opens up a nursery to help the artisan parents with childcare and the vast car park turns into a green square with bike paths and benches to relax. In this version of Coventry, sustainability and human experience are the two main driving forces for urban growth. “
PIETRUCZYNIK, Daria
BSc (Hons) Architecture
“This project brings focus to Coventry’s rich history of railways and the communities and businesses they serve. This railway museum will encapsulate this history for the masses, and workshops will become creative spaces to educate the younger generation. Recycled track and train metal will be used in construction, to create interesting and unique facades. Situated alongside Spon End railway viaduct, visitors will be able to watch trains as they pass, as well as enjoy 360° views around Coventry.”
COLQUHOUN, Josephine
BSc (Hons) Architecture
HEX is an adaptable space for efficient living in the city for 2030, that seamlessly integrates with a larger architecture to form an additional, usable living space.
NEWMAN, Richard
BA (Hons) Automotive & Transport
“The Atrium represents a sustainable centre for innovation, while simultaneously attempting to re-diversify Coventry’s student dominated city centre. The proposal’s design was heavily driven by its diagonal passage forming an atrium which penetrates all floors of the building. This void forms a connection between the built-up city centre and a previously neglected riverside park. The rooftop residential development acts as a prototype for flat-roof extension to other buildings in the city to re-inhabit and diversify inner Coventry.
Tackling current climate issues, the building’s materiality challenges the conventional idea of innovation and high-tech, as this Innovation Centre is constructed completely from timber. The exposed glulam columns and beams are visible from the atrium, around which all spaces are arranged.
The public program consists of a VR Experience Space, transporting visitors into the digital realm, allowing them to experience cutting edge software powered by augmented- as well as virtual reality hardware. The main attraction will be accompanied by Co-Working Spaces for start-ups, students and young professionals and a MR [Mixed Reality] Media Laboratory as a fertile ground for innovation and development within the tech industry.“
HACKL, Johannes
BSc (Hons) Architecture
“A concept vehicle for the urban environment in 2035 as cities strive for more sustainable and space saving transport methods. Extending the idea of autonomous and connected spaces to a time when vehicles fully interact and physically connect with homes and cities. Autonomy in the automotive industry will allow for future vehicles to be multifunctional. This project explores the potential for transport as a form of mobile architecture extending the owner’s home interior space.”
McCANDLESS, Josh
BA (Hons) Automotive & Transport
“My sustainable toy car is made using 3D printing as an alternative manufacturing technology that allows consumers to configure and personalise online before and after they purchase their toy, this brings in elements of emotional durability and allows for a completely personalised experience. These parts are then attached to a body made from ethically desirable recycled plastic which raises awareness for waste plastic and also provides a unique colour pattern for each toy.
It functions as a wind-up car using an elastic band. But as the child gets older you can purchase an electrical RC kit to prolong the engagement of the toy and extend the product life. The kit allows kids to learn basic electronic systems and is comprised of components that can be used in other electronic projects or are 100% recyclable.
The entire toy is designed to be easily repaired independently by the child to develop basic tool skills and encourage values for repairing other toys and products instead of discarding and replacing. The 3D printing also allows for lower carbon footprint by reducing storage of spare parts and eliminated transportation.
The engagement of the toy can be extended by using AR technology to project custom racetracks onto the ground and the packaging has been designed so that it can be repurposed into an assortment of extras, such as a Jump, mechanic stand and a tyre rack.”
SUMMERSBEE, Owen
BA (Hons) Product Design