New York City is on a mission to build a better payphone for the digital age.
A few months ago, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a design challenge with the Reinvent Payphones initiative. The goal: Crowdsource ways to revitalize and upgrade the city's 11,000 pay phones.
Last night, the city announced the six winning prototypes. Some of the submissions imagined pay phone kiosks with air pollution sensors, solar-powered cell phone chargers, and screens controlled by hand gestures and voice commands.
The city judged the prototypes based on connectivity, creativity, visual design, functionality, and community impact.
New York City's contracts for its pay phones expire in October 2014. The winners of the Reinvent Payphone Design Challenge aren't guaranteed contracts, but the city will take those designs into consideration when determining what to do with New York's pay phones.
Already, the city has converted some payphones into Wi-Fi hotspots. And in November 2012, it replaced 10 booths in Union Square with touchscreens for maps, public service announcements, and entertainment listings.
(http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-citys-payphones-of-the-future-2013-3)
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
AIA selects seven winners of healthcare building design award
The National Healthcare Design Awards recognizes functional hospital projects that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns. Recipients were selected in three categories this year.
Industrial Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
Snøhetta, Bjarke Ingels among four finalists for S.Pellegrino bottling plant design
A committee will evaluate proposals in September.
Architects | Jul 22, 2016
5 creative approaches to finish standards
With the right mindset, standards can produce great design for healthcare facilities, as VOA's Candace Small explores.
Retail Centers | Jul 21, 2016
MVRDV designs Seoul entertainment district with gold entrance and curtain façade
The 9,800-sm complex will have retail and nightclub space. A plaza separates the two concrete buildings.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 20, 2016
Process mapping simplifies healthcare design
Charting procedures and highlighting improvement opportunities can lead to developing effective design strategy simulations. GS&P’s Ray Wong writes that process mapping adds value to a project and bolsters team and stakeholder collaboration.
Architects | Jul 20, 2016
AIA: Architecture Billings Index remains on solid footing
The June ABI score was down from May, but the figure was positive for the fifth consecutive month.
| Jul 19, 2016
2016 GIANTS 300 REPORT: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now in its 40th year, BD+C’s annual Giants 300 report ranks AEC firms by discipline and across more than 20 building sectors and specialty services.
Architects | Jul 18, 2016
17 buildings designed by Le Corbusier added to UNESCO World Heritage List
The sites are spread across seven counties and were built over the course of 50 years. Le Corbusier, an architect, designer, and urban planner, was a founder of modern architecture.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 18, 2016
Four residential projects named winners of the 2016 AIA/HUD Secretary Awards
Affordable housing, specialized housing, and accessible housing projects were honored.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jul 18, 2016
Turner and AECOM will build the Los Angeles Rams’ new multi-billion dollar stadium project
The 70,000-seat stadium will be ready by the 2019 NFL season. The surrounding mixed-use development includes space for retail, hotels, and public parks.
