Fiber canopies proposed to turn Phoenix streets into comfortable public space
“Is a dry heat.” That’s what everyone always says when hearing about the intense heat of a Phoenix summer. It may be true, but 105 degrees is 105 degrees, and black asphalt streets that can be used as a frying pan in the direct desert sun are not the most hospitable of places.
A proposal from Blank Studio Design + Architecture, however, looks to make the streets of Phoenix more inviting by turning city streets into corridors where the asphalt has been replaced in favor of dense ribbons of flora, cars have been removed, and a canopy of sisal fiber provides shade from the sun, Dezeen reports. Blank Studio’s proposal won first place in the 2016 Metro Design Competition that was organized by the Phoenix chapter of AIA.