Eric Höweler’s (assistant professor of architecture) firm Höweler + Yoon Architecture took top prize in the Audi Urban Future Award 2012 at a ceremony in Istanbul on October 18. The firm’s urbanism proposal “Shareway 2030” envisions the reinvention through intermodal hubs of the Boston to Washington metropolitan region. Shareway is a mobility platform and operating system that restructures the relationships between property and access, allowing users to move along efficient mobility networks while remaining free of car and home ownership. Its aim is no less than a reimagining of the American Dream through creatively reconfiguring the infrastructure of transportation, cyber and social networks and the Northeast Corridor landscape.
Design theorist John Thackara, head of the award jury, praised the winning concept for its “social as well as technical innovation at a system-wide level—especially its core concept of ‘opportunity without ownership.’ It was important, too, that real architectural quality is evident in the execution of the winning project.”
The award is a biennial element of the Audi Urban Future Initiative, which seeks to establish a global dialogue about the future of mobility, architecture and urban planning. Five architectural firms were selected to develop a vision of future urban mobility for distinct metropolitan regions: Istanbul, São Paulo, Mumbai and the Pearl River Delta in China, in addition to the Boston to Washington corridor.
Learn more about the Höweler + Yoon winning concept and the Audi Urban Future Initiative.