Typologies of Fulfillment

New forms of mobility are being developed currently for both people and things. From autonomous container ships and trucks, to auton-omous buses and cars, to autonomous aerial and land drones, logistics and transportation is being reformulated rapidly.

These new forms of intelligent motion are impacting urban, suburban and rural infrastructure. However, little thought is being applied to how buildings are impacted; in particular, the interior circulation and building envelope. It is the premise of this research studio that lightweight intelligent electric mobility should enter architecture and provoke a similar transformation that the elevator and escalator provoked a century ago. We are rethinking the ‘market’ on a site here in Los Angeles adjacent to the historic Farmer’s Market on Fairfax. We have familiarized ourselves with terrestrial “land drones” used for outdoor and indoor delivery, with ride sharing and autonomy in the automotive realm and with warehouse logistics during our visit to the Amazon Fulfillment Center (OKA4) in Tracy, CA. The students are rethinking the typology of the market and creating a contemporary civic presence and customer experience of moving people and things within the city and the building.