the smart fortwo ed spends one fine day in austin for SXSW

the smart fortwo ed spends one fine day in austin for SXSW
all images by daniel brückner

as a car manufacturer, smart has aimed at putting forth an ideal for urban mobility and greater sustainable practices. its initiatives — not only related to introducing new technologies and ideas for more streamlined transportation, but better urban living — include its associated publication that presents stories from some of the world’s most influential cities. smart magazine highlights the work of contemporary visionaries and their projects which seek to improve life in the urban landscape. whether they’re focusing on a specific problem, or finding solutions for larger urban challenges, smart magazine highlights their activities.

for SXSW 2015, smart took to the streets of austin, texas in a fortwo electric drive — equipped with combined electric energy consumption: 15.1 kWh/199 km, combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km — to visit three of SXSW’s conference speakers who are working on groundbreaking designs and systems that have the potential to shape the future of our metropolises.

gabe blanchet, CEO and co-founder of grove labs

at first, smart magazine met gabe blanchet from grove labs. together with jamie byron, blanchet is working on developing alternative farming techniques so that individuals in compact living conditions are able to harvest their own produce right from their windowsill through grove lab’s bespoke eco-systems. jaime’s and gabe’s belief is that everybody deserves access to healthy, sustainably-grown food; and their mission is to empower people and their greater communities to grow healthy food by themselves by giving them the right tools to do so.

interaction designer ainsley wagoner and tiffany chu, CDO and co-founder of transitmix

next, smart caught up with designer tiffany chu, CDO and co-founder of transitmix, and interaction designer ainsley wagoner, to discuss their digital prototyping tool. transitmix tracks various transportation routes in major cities, offering visual geospatial data that helps commuters can make the best transit decisions. the program encourages the participation of citizens, city officials and urban planners to sketch out transit routes, share maps and information, so new courses are revealed to ease traffic and reduce travel time. overall, chu and wagoner aim at helping our urban metropolises plan better public transit.

igor siddiqui of isssstudio

the final visit was with igor siddiqui, founder of isssstudio. siddiqui’s background as an architect sees him exploring how design can contribute to the built environment through more temporary structures and installations, while being socially responsible and engaging for citizens. his work focuses on sustainable building practices, and the research and application of renewable materials for the realization of our physical spaces.

having already taken to the streets of barcelona and berlin, smart magazine will continue its journey by travelling across the globe in search of creatives who are looking to optimize and enhance life in our cities; supporting urban pioneers to take action through a crowd-driven initiative. stay tuned for more news on smart magazine, and follow stories and updates on both facebook and twitter.