Designing the Taxi
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A PROJECT OF THE DESIGN TRUST FOR PUBLIC SPACE DESIGN INGTHE TAXI DESIGNING THE TAXI is a Design Trust for Public Space Primary Authors program, in cooperation with Parsons The New School for Megan Canning Design, and made possible through the generous support of Savannah Gorton the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Deborah Berke & Partners Deborah Marton Architects LLP, and Pentagram. Editorial Contributors Design Trust for Public Space http://www.designtrust.org/ Paul Goldberger Michael Levine The printing of this book was made possible through the Phil Patton generous sponsorship of Finlay printing and Mohawk Fine Jean Ryan Papers. Printed on Mohawk Options, 100% PCW, 80 text Andrew Salkin which is manufactured with renewable wind energy. Bruce Schaller Editor Copyright 2005 by the Design Trust for Public Space. Chelsea Mauldin All rights reserved. Book Design ISBN 978-0-9716942-8-6 Pentagram DESIGNING THE TAXI: RETHINKING NEW YORK CITY’S MOVEABLE PUBLIC SPACE NEW YORK CITY NOVEMBER 2005 DESIGN TRUST FOR PUBLIC SPACE CONTRIBUTORS The following individuals and organizations participated in Designing the Taxi, Workshop 2. Their ideas and designs form the basis of this book. ANTENNA DESIGN NEW YORK, INC. PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK CITY Founded in 1997 by Masamichi Udagawa and The Partnership for New York City’s mission is Sigi Moeslinger, Antenna’s mission is to make the to enhance the economy of the fi ve boroughs experience of objects and environments more of New York City and maintain the city’s position meaningful and exciting. Antenna’s diverse output as the global center of commerce, culture, ranges from public and commercial projects, and innovation. such as New York City subway cars, to exploratory environments, such as Power Flower, an PENTAGRAM interactive installation in Bloomingdale’s windows. Pentagram is an international multi-disciplinary design fi rm, creating print and screen graphics, BIRSEL + SECK products, environments, and buildings. Pentagram Ayse Birsel and Bibi Seck design products, designers are guided by the principle that ideas environmental systems, and packaging. make design distinctive, and that identity, Focused on user-centered design, they practice function, aesthetics, and value make design work. an intelligent creativity in close collaboration with industry leaders, including Herman Miller, RONART LEASING CORPORATION HP, Target, and Renault, among others. Garnering Ronart Leasing Corporation operates one of the numerous awards for innovative design, their largest taxi fl eets in New York City. Ronart owner work spans offi ce and home interiors, bath, retail, Michael Levine also owns Yellow Cab of Chicago, and automotive sectors. a fl eet of 1,500 vehicles, the largest in that city. He is currently president of the Committee for Taxi CITYSTREETS Safety and is a former executive board member of Founded by Harris Silver in 1998, Citystreets the International Taxicab and Livery Association. is known internationally as a forward-thinking non-profi t focused on urban transportation and SCHALLER CONSULTING pedestrian-safety issues. Schaller Consulting’s principal, Bruce Schaller, is a leading practitioner in the area of FOX & FOWLE ARCHITECTS municipal taxicab regulation. He has consulted Fox & Fowle Architects is a New York City-based extensively for local and federal government, architectural, interior design, planning, and university and non-profi t organizations, and urban design fi rm committed to design excellence, for-profi t companies. Prior to establishing Schaller social responsibility, and sustainability. Consulting in 1998, Mr. Schaller served as Director of Policy Development and Evaluation HYBRID PRODUCT DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT at the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission and Hybrid Product Design + Development is a New as Deputy Director for Marketing Research York industrial-design consultancy that develops and Analysis at NYC Transit. concepts for the transportation, consumer electronics, housewares, and medical diagnostic SPRINGTIME-USA industries. Hybrid was co-founded in 2000 by Springtime-USA focuses on leading-edge design Jeanne Pfordresher and Russell Robertson. projects that explore opportunities in product, new media, branding, space, and social strategy, IDEO leveraging Springtime’s facile practical solutions IDEO helps companies innovate by designing and affordable results. Founder and President products, services, environments, and digital Tucker Viemaster also helped found Studio Red experiences. IDEO’s teams, culture, and methods with the RockwellGroup, Razorfi sh’s physical fuel an approach to innovation and design that design capability, frogdesign’s New York offi ce, begins with a deep exploration of business, and Smart Design, famous for OXO “GoodGrips”. human, and technical factors. TRUCK PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE IMAGINATION (USA), INC. TRUCK Product Architecture, a furniture and Imagination is a global strategic consultancy, product design fi rm, was founded in 2000 by a multi-disciplinary creative agency, and a Jennifer Carpenter and Rogers Marvel Architects. high quality production company. Established The fi rm has won Good Design awards from the in London in 1978, Imagination has offi ces in Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture New York City, Detroit and Los Angeles, as well and Design and Future Furniture awards from as hubs in Europe and Asia. Interior Design magazine. KEN SMITH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ERHAN TUNCEL, TAXI DRIVER Ken Smith is a landscape architect who has Erhan Tuncel, an owner/driver with seven years worked on a wide variety of national and of cab experience, immigrated to the USA international projects. His interests include from Istanbul, Turkey, 28 years ago; he has lived landscape design of varying scale, with a in NYC for the past 25 years. Prior to driving a particular emphasis on projects that explore cab, he owned a retail produce business. the symbolic content and expressive power of landscape as an art form. WEISZ + YOES Weisz + Yoes is an architectural fi rm specializing NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL in design and programming solutions for Natural Resources Defense Council is a national challenging sites. Recipients of numerous design non-profi t environmental organization that awards, Weisz + Yoes recently received an works to provide for the conservation and wise Honor Award in the Boston Society of Architects management of land and natural resources. Educational Facilities K-12 Awards Program for The Bronx Charter School for the Arts. CONTRIBUTORS TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORDS 4 ABOUT DESIGNING THE TAXI 5 DEBORAH MARTON, DESIGN TRUST FOR PUBLIC SPACE A TAXI IS NOT A CAR 6 PAUL GOLDBERGER, PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN TAXI REGULATORS EMBRACE CHANGE 7 ANDREW SALKIN, NYC TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION BACKGROUND ESSAYS 8 THE TAXI VEHICLE IN THE IDEAL TAXI SYSTEM 8 BRUCE SCHALLER, SCHALLER CONSULTING DESIGNING FOR THE INDUSTRY 12 MICHAEL LEVINE, RONART LEASING CORPORATION THE TAXI AS ICON 16 PHIL PATTON PROPOSALS: THE TAXI SYSTEM 18 TAXI IDENTITY 20 CITYSTREETS, PENTAGRAM, SPRINGTIME GREENING THE TAXI FLEET 22 FOX & FOWLE ARCHITECTS, HYBRID PRODUCT DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT, KEN SMITH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OPTIMIZING THE STREET 26 BIRSEL + SECK, IDEO, KEN SMITH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT TAXI STANDS 28 CITYSTREETS, IDEO, TRUCK PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE, ERHAN TUNCEL, WEISZ + YOES WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY 32 CITYSTREETS, IDEO, WEISZ + YOES CASHLESS PAYMENT 34 IMAGINATION FLEET DIVERSIFICATION 36 CITYSTREETS, HYBRID PRODUCT DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT, IDEO PROPOSALS: THE TAXI VEHICLE 40 ROOF LIGHT 42 ANTENNA DESIGN, BIRSEL + SECK, WEISZ + YOES ACCESS & SAFETY 44 ANTENNA DESIGN, BIRSEL + SECK, CITYSTREETS, DISABLED IN ACTION, HYBRID PRODUCT DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT INTERIOR COMPARTMENTS 48 BIRSEL + SECK, CITYSTREETS, IDEO, PENTAGRAM CHILD SEAT 52 BIRSEL + SECK PARTITION AS PASSENGER CONSOLE 54 ANTENNA DESIGN, BIRSEL + SECK SKYLIGHT 56 BLUE MARLIN, HYBRID PRODUCT DESIGN + DEVELOPMENT, PENTAGRAM CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 58 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 60 FORE WORDS 4 FOREWORDS TO JUMP-START THE PROCESS OF CHANGE, WE INVITED FLEET OWNERS, DRIVERS, PLANNERS, DESIGNERS, MEDALLION HOLDERS, ARTISTS, AND REPRESENTATIVES OF NEW YORK CITY AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION, TO TWO HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS. As the hundredth anniversary of the fi rst gasoline- powered taxi approaches in 2007, the Design Trust for Public Space is investigating how this iconic mode of transportation can be improved, with the ultimate goal of producing a new taxi design in time for the centennial. To jump-start the process of change, we invited fl eet owners, drivers, landscape architects, urban planners, vehicle and industrial designers, graphic artists, medallion holders, representatives of New York City agencies, including the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and others to two half-day work- shops, held in cooperation with Parsons The New School for Design. In total, over 50 designers and taxi stakeholders took part in a spirited discussion of all things taxi. At the fi rst workshop, which took place at Parsons on This program would not have been possible May 24, 2005, participants discussed trends in without the enthusiasm, support and ingenuity of taxi design, the taxi’s role as a New York public its participants. The Designing the Taxi steering ABOUT DESIGNING THE TAXI space, and the ideal taxi and taxi system of the committee was instrumental in framing the by Deborah Marton future, from the perspective of a taxi passenger. inquiry, particularly First Deputy Commissioner Executive Director Andrew Salkin of the