Toyota launches plans for the creation of a new city to experience the mobility technologies of the future. It is called Woven and will be a real laboratory for autonomous driving, robot cars, artificial intelligence and will be the residence of hundreds of researchers and scientists. For the design of Woven City – that will rise at the base of Mount Fuji – Toyota has commissioned Danish architect, Bjarke Ingels, CEO, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).
“Connected, autonomous, emission-free and shared mobility solutions are bound to unleash a world of opportunities for new forms of urban life. We believe we have a unique opportunity to explore new forms of urbanity with the Woven City that could pave new paths for other cities to explore”, said Ingels. The masterplan of the city includes the designations for street usage into three types: for faster vehicles only, for a mix of lower speed, personal mobility and pedestrians, and for a park-like promenade for pedestrians only.
The city is planned to be fully sustainable, with buildings made mostly of wood to minimize the carbon footprint, using traditional Japanese wood joinery, combined with robotic production methods. The rooftops will be covered in photo-voltaic panels to generate solar power in addition to power generated by hydrogen fuel cells.
Toyota plans to weave in the outdoors throughout the city, with native vegetation and hydroponics. To move residents through the city, only fully-autonomous, zero-emission vehicles will be allowed on the main thoroughfares. In and throughout Woven City, autonomous Toyota e-Palettes will be used for transportation and deliveries ,as well as for changeable mobile retail.
