Mainspring
Designer: Haeccity Studio Architecture
Concept
As single family neighbourhoods in urban centres densify, multiple families living on one property is becoming increasingly common. With the high cost of parking and reduced commuting due to more people working from home, car sharing makes economic sense. Volvo’s XC40 Recharge is a sophisticated, environmentally progressive, and family friendly SUV that meets a wider range of transportation needs than the average commercial car sharing service. Combined with the equally multifunctional and accessible Mainspring garage – which frees other garages for activities that mentally and physically recharge – families can pool resources to reach a higher quality of life, together.
Sustainability
Neither residence nor office, public nor private, the Mainspring garage is the driving force behind a network of “third spaces”—a block-wide collective of studios, home offices, workshops, gyms, breweries, and more. Its vaulted ceilings, bright interiors, and waterproof recycled rubber flooring make it a welcoming gathering place for all, and its roof is designed to collect rainwater for carwashing and hydroponic gardening. Like the Volvo XC40 Recharge, the garage is both elegant and practical. Together they declare: our future’s best chance is one where we give back as much as we take.
Volvo XC40 Recharge Inspiration
As we transition to cleaner modes of transportation and more complete neighbourhoods, cars and garages no longer need to be associated with individual ownership and privilege. Instead, they can be seen as amenities to be shared with friends and family. Powered by the Volvo On Call car sharing app, garage and car together become a community hub, for work or play. The traditional functions of the North American garage as a space for creativity, leisure, and refuge are preserved—elevated, even—with one or two Volvo XC40 Recharges enabling a host of shared experiences for multiple families.
"An exceptional project engaging a reflection on the community, but also on the importance of the spaces built in the urban fabric. These spaces can now have multiple uses while fulfilling several functions. A bold, rich and future-oriented project."
- Kim Pariseau
Founder, APPAREIL architecture, Judge
“The Mainstream is an engaging response based on a thoughtful understanding of the future of transportation and what the electric car can offer.”
- Javier Campos
Founder and Principal Designer, Campus Studio, Judge
"Haeccity Studio Architecture combined the elegance and practicality they saw in the Volvo XC40 Recharge into “Mainspring”, by creating an innovative communal garage concept that could transform the future of our neighbourhoods.”
- Robin Page
Head of Design, Volvo Cars, Judge
“A remarkable piece of storytelling, Mainspring proposes a one - maybe the best - future made available to us through EV technology.”
- Jonathan Sabine & Jessica Nakanishi
Co-founders, MSDS Studios, Judges
Haeccity Studio Architecture
Shirley Shen, Travis Hanks, John Roddick, Jorge Roman and Ana Cadena are from Haeccity Studio Architecture from Vancouver, BC. Their New Garage design, ‘Mainspring,’ turns the garage space into a car sharing opportunity for the whole community. By creating a communal garage, all other existing garages in the neighbourhood have the opportunity to be transformed into a new space which promote mentally and physically recharging activities.
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