Exploring the ideas and innovations needed to create a sustainable transportation system.
The car revolutionized personal mobility in the modern world, and it will continue to be an important mode of transportation for the foreseeable future.
But with climate change and “peak oil” looming on the horizon, and as world demand for oil continues to rise, the pressure is on the auto sector to provide innovative ways to make cars less dependent on fossil fuels.
North American cities experienced rapid growth in the 20th century, just as personal cars became the preferred mode transportation. We are all familiar with the result: multi-lane highways, urban sprawl and suburbs designed specifically for the automobile.
Cities in Canada and around the world are all facing the same issues: a growing urban population combined with degraded infrastructure and increasing auto emissions. Taken together, that scenario demands a rethink of our current car-based transportation system. It means reducing car use, but it also means fuel-efficient vehicles and “smarter” cars that incorporate information technology to reduce their emissions.
We asked Charrette participants to design a sustainable vehicle that would help to transform the auto sector.
The proposed vehicle would have to be economically viable for both manufacturers and consumers, while also using a cradle-to-cradle approach that would account for the product’s full life-cycle—from manufacturer to recycler.
Victor Bogatch, Senior Product Designer, Apparatus Inc.
Matt Hexemer, Creative Director, Apparatus Inc.
Miles Keller, Owner, Dystil Design
Nigel Knott, Engineering Materials Science, University of Toronto/Stanford
Tyler Macdonald, Industrial Designer, Humber College
Raymundo Pavan, Student, Institute without Boundaries
FACILITATOR: Raymundo Pavan
Student, Institute without Boundaries
TEAM EXPERT: William Harney
Executive Director, Research and Development, Magna Exteriors & Interiors Corp.
LEAD DESIGNER: Matt Hexemer
Creative Director, Apparatus Inc.
DOCUMENTER: Catalina Hernandez
Urban Planning, Ryerson
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Humberto Aldaz
Graphic Communication Design
TEAM MEMBERS:
Francois Gauvin, Financial Analyst
Harry Chen, student, University of Toronto Schools
Jamie Ibbett, Industrial Design Consultant
Miles Keller, Owner, Dystil Design
Nigel Knott, Engineering Materials, Science University of Toronto/Stanford
Roxana Khoshsokhan, Car Designer
Tyler Macdonald, Industrial Designer, Humber College
Victor Bogatch, Senior Product Designer, Apparatus Inc.
John Arnott, President, The Arnott Design Group Inc.
Lloyd Alter, Editor, Architecture and Design Discovery Communications www.treehugger.com, Adjunct Professor, Ryerson University School of Interior Design
Richard Brown, CEO, Rogue Specialty Transport
Cara Clairman, President, Plug n’ Drive
Joe Durzo, VP Sales & Marketing, Solar Tech Northern Lights
Andrew Lapham, Director at Onex Corporation
Richard Laszlo, Director, Research and Education QUEST
Kevin McLaughlin, President, Auto Share
Nicholas Parker, Parker Venture Management Inc.
Martin Rovers, Director, Better Place Canada
Anthony Santilli, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Bullfrog Power Inc.
Michael Sutherland, Senior Advisor of Investment Strategy and Project
Evaluation, Metrolinx
Josh Tzventarny, Director of Operations and Planning, Plug’nDrive Ontario
