These are the Labs of the Embassy of Mobility

Embassy Lab: 15-Minute City

Mobility is a necessity, not a goal. The concept of the 15-minute city is already being put into practice in large cities such as Paris and Sydney to improve the liveability of the city. The 15-minute city is designed so that all necessary facilities can be reached on foot or by bike within 15 minutes. Think of supermarkets, sports facilities, healthcare, education, recreation, workplaces etc.. But what exactly does this mean for the design of the public space? And what do residents consider important in terms of the facilities and layout of their town? Together with a design studio, we are going to develop a vision to investigate how the concept of the 15-minute city can be realised in Eindhoven with proximity as a starting point. Via visualisations, the ideas are presented to residents (and visitors to DDW) to gather feedback and insights that can later be applied in practice. With the results of the inventory and experiments, we further develop the new perspective. How are we going to effectively implement the 15-minute city on a large scale within the current infrastructure? Bygg Architecture & Design takes up the challenge.

Embassy Lab: Green for Gasoline

In the second Embassy Lab from the Embassy of Mobility, Studio 1:1 sets to work with an inventory of the possibilities surrounding mobility in a specific neighbourhood in Eindhoven. There, they investigate how mobility can contribute to more well-being, connectivity and, in addition, make a positive contribution to the environment instead of the other way around. What if the quality of life was a central issue when designing mobility? If it were to make a positive contribution to the environment? Or if its purpose was to prevent transport movements? Time to correct the design error of the last century, in which the car was central to urban planning: mobility from the human point of view, instead of from the car.

Embassy Lab: Out-of-home workspaces

Hybrid working (partly at home and partly in the office) has become the new normal for many people at an accelerated pace. However, not everyone finds the home a suitable place to work. This can be due to a lack of space for a well-equipped workplace or an increasingly blurred separation between work and private life. This and easing measures surrounding Corona have in turn led to more congestion on the road. Design studio Van Eijk and Van der Lubbe will be working on the design question: How can we facilitate good workplaces close to home so that commuters have fewer transport movements to make?

Keep an eye on this page for the latest updates!

The Embassy Labs are based on the developed and tested methods of What if Lab, a programme of Dutch Design Foundation. They form the link between inspiring visions and concrete applicable solutions.