Archinect - News

Toyota and BIG's 'Woven City' project breaks ground in Japan

2021-03-01T14:16:00-05:00

Early in 2020, Archinect reported on Toyota and BIG's collaborative project "Woven City." The 175-acre project aims to turn the former factory site located in the city of Susono in Shizuoka, Japan into a "revolutionary smart city." On February 24, 2021, Toyota announced that the "futuristic city" has broken ground and construction is underway.

Image of project site with iconic Mt. Fuji in the background. courtesy of Woven City Facebook page.

During the Woven City groundbreaking ceremony, Toyota President Aiko Toyoda shared, "The Woven City project officially starts today. Taking action as one has decided is never an easy task. I must express my deepest gratitude to all who have provided their whole-hearted support and cooperation to the project through today. The unwavering themes of the Woven City are 'human-centered,' 'a living laboratory' and 'ever-evolving.' Together with the support of our project partners, we will take on the challenge of creating a future where people of dive...

BIG and Toyota unveil 175-acre “Woven City” in Japan that tests out the future of urban mobility

2020-01-07T16:39:00-05:00

BIG has drawn up the masterplan for the “Toyota Woven City”, which will transform a 175-acre former factory site in the city of Susono in Shizuoka into a new smart city that will be fully “dedicated to the advancement of all aspects of mobility”. Bjarke Ingels and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda presented the prototype town at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday.

Currently scheduled to break ground in early 2021, the multi-phase project features a flexible network of streets dedicated to various speeds of mobility, which allows for safer, pedestrian-friendly connections, BIG says. It will also incorporate solar energy, geothermal energy, and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Plus, the city's hidden infrastructure will include a goods delivery network called the “matternet”.

Woven City splits the typical road into three street types. The first is a street optimized for faster automated vehicles, with logistical traffic underneath.

Credit: BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group.

Credit: BIG |...

May Mobility and Toyota lead push for autonomous transport to further 'Mobility for All' efforts

2019-12-11T11:20:00-05:00

Ann Arbor-based autonomous Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider May Mobility and Toyota are taking steps forward to realize their mission to transform cities through autonomous transport. With demand rising, Toyota has led a new round of funding of $50 million that will aid the TaaS provider in expanding their vehicle fleet and hire more people.

May Mobility is currently focusing on the US first-mile-last-mile transportation market, primarily the urban core areas with its current fleet of electric vehicles having already provided over 170,000 revenue-generating rides. The company is also growing its enterprise service with public and private customers in Detroit, MI, Grand Rapids, MI, and Providence, RI.

"By working together, we hope to accelerate our efforts at Toyota aimed towards realizing 'Mobility for All'," said Keiju Yamamoto, Toyota Operating Officer and President of Toyota's in-house Connected Company. With the Toyota Mobility Foundation, the auto giant has invested...