Immersed as we are in the virtual worlds of social media, we have begun to neglect physical interaction and are gradually losing the richness of real connection. To reimagine authentic encounters in the future, this project uses autonomous driving to “physicalize social networks within the city.”

The key concept is docking—spaces connect and separate dynamically, weaving together moments of human encounter.

When autonomous driving becomes widespread, streets no longer need to be easy to navigate or brightly lit. As the rules that once existed to make cities “drivable by humans” fade away, urban environments will diversify, fostering more varied forms of interaction.

The essence of autonomous driving lies in the idea that “space itself moves autonomously, and humans can only entrust themselves to it.” People surrender to this motion, allowing themselves to be connected through the relationships between spaces.

Mobilities connect and disconnect—through encounters between spaces, people are guided to encounter one another.Movement is not the transition from point A to point B, but rather the experience of a “continuously transforming environment.”

In this system, the curvature of a mobility represents its degree of compatibility with others, while the number of bulges indicates how many other mobilities it can dock with. For example, a party mobility has many folds and gentle curvature, allowing numerous mobilities to dock simultaneously.

The project depicts 60 scenes across 20 stories, illustrating how mobilities—and the people within them—meet, build relationships, and eventually drift apart.

2020: Awarded in the Shinkenchiku Residential Design Competition.