Archinect - News 2024-11-05T03:39:47-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149981970/plp-architecture-conceives-of-automated-underground-cartube-for-london PLP Architecture conceives of automated, underground "CarTube" for London Julia Ingalls 2016-12-08T12:45:00-05:00 >2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/bz/bzkvunoulmjq5fdf.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Imagine driving into London not on surface streets, but rather in an underground tube with automated, moving tracks designed specifically for electric cars. Like a kind of subterranean track-laden ferry, which drivers would be able to individually join and exit at numerous points, this "CarTube" concept is the work of Lars Hesselgren's research team at&nbsp;<a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/84300871/plp-architecture" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PLP Architecture</a>.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/43/43vzmmhl4z21348i.jpg"></p><p>Although the proposal uses London as a starting point, the firm isn't limiting it to the U.K., as this <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/dec/02/cartube-tube-underground-cars-proposal-bury-traffic-next-best-thing-to-teleportation" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Guardian article</a> notes:</p><p><em>If the project&rsquo;s goal is to reduce street-level congestion, then is a city like London (which already has an extensive public transport system and congestion charge) its prime target? &ldquo;London is our case study, but chances are it will get built somewhere else where people are desperate for a solution,&rdquo; Hesselgren says, listing Mexico City, Delhi, Jakarta and Mumbai as the sorts of gridlock-heavy cities&nbsp;that could benefit from the CarTube. &ldquo;This kind of approach in those places could really make...</em></p>