INVESTIGATING STRATEGIES TO RE-THINK AND THICKEN PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Thick Infrastructure
THICK INFRASTRUCTURE is a design research project investigating the expansion and re-design of public infrastructure to include elements that enhance civic and public spaces, transforming single-purpose infrastructure landscapes into multi-functional systems. The project advances the vision of infrastructure as integrated into the fabric of the city, replacing the reality of single purpose, engineered, and disconnected infrastructural landscapes.
The project tested design ideas and strategies for intervention by looking at a select number of the 28 park and ride lots, 19 transit centers, and linear segments of both the 2500 miles of waterways and ditches and the 200 miles of utility easements in the city. The ideas and designs provide a window into the potential future of our infrastructure systems and landscapes and illustrate new ways to connect these systems in our communities.
Project Team: Susan Rogers, Ruqiya Imtiaz-uddin, Alex Lara, Rose Lee, Xavier Vargas
2012