A scheme to convert roadways in Phoenix into car-free and plant-filled corridors shaded by woven canopies has won first place in a design competition.
Designed by local firm Blank Studio Design + Architecture, the plan calls for transforming existing streets in Phoenix ? a desert city in Arizona where summer temperatures regularly climb over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) ? into "unique corridors of inhabitable, comfortable, public space".
To achieve this, the team proposes removing cars and replacing strips of asphalt with dense ribbons of flora. The former roadways would be covered with "cloud-like" fibre canopies that would reduce the intensity of the sunlight penetrating the cityscape.
The scheme, called Jacaranda Avenue, won first place in the 2016 Metro Design Competition organised by the Phoenix chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "A Japanese word, komorebi, describes the ephemeral dappling of sunlight beneath a tree canopy," said the architects. "We asked what could happen if this dappled shade condition was generated over large swathes of this Sonoran Desert city."
The canopies would be made of thick strands of sisal, a natural fibre that comes from the Mexican agave plant. The warm-coloured material is lightweight and durable, and can be replaced as it ages.

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