Today we visited BMW Welt (World) and the BMW Museum in Munich. BMW Welt was designed by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU out of Vienna. It is the result of a design competition that the BMW Group held in 2001. Construction of the ~73,000 square meter facility was completed in 2007. The project is centered around a great hall and an elevated vehicle delivery area known as Premiere. It was designed -- and this includes the HVAC system -- to handle 40 car deliveries per hour, or 250 per day. I guess they don't work a full 8 hours. Below are two photos that I took of the delivery area. The circles you see on the floor in the second picture are rotating platforms. This is where you want to pick up your new car.

And here is a plan of the entire Welt space via COOP HIMMELB(L)AU:

I also really enjoyed the BMW Museum, which is housed in a separate building adjacent to the BMW Tower (the one that looks like engine cylinders). The "art cars" were a lot of fun. I'm sure that many of you will be able to guess the artist behind this one:

But what I enjoyed most were the classics like this one here:

The least interesting cars for me were the ones that weren't old enough to be "classic", but also weren't new and shiny. This can happen with architectural styles as well. Designs sometime need time to settle in. For more photos of BMW Welt and the BMW Museum, follow me on Instagram. Drawings/Isometrics: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU

Below is a photo of Interstate 95 near Miami, which, for the record, I myself did not take while driving.

The two empty lanes that you see are the “Express Lanes.” The price for using these lanes varies based on demand.

During periods of low demand, the toll could be around $0.20 per mile. 

During periods of high demand, such as during rush hour, it might be $1 per mile. 

And during unusually heavy periods, like when there’s an accident, it could be more.

We used these lanes while driving around the Miami area on this trip. The pricing always seemed reasonable and the lanes were never congested.

I think the above picture is a good demonstration of how dynamic road pricing can be used alleviate traffic congestion.

That’s why many cities, such as Portland, are exploring it as a solution. I wish Toronto would do the same.

For a number of years now, urbanists – including myself – have been thinking about “peak car.” And that’s because if you looked at vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the United States since about 2007, the trend line was more or less flat. 

This had us wondering whether or it was simply an outcome of the recession or some sort of broader shift.

Well, if you look at the December 2015 numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation, VMTs are once again growing. In fact, it’s now above the 2007 “peak.” Compared to December 2014, travel on all roads and streets in December 2015 was up by 4.2% or 10.6 billion vehicle miles traveled. 

Here’s the chart:

A lot of this could be because of lower gas prices. But I would be curious to hear your thoughts in the comments about whether or not you think 2007 to 2014 was (1) a recessionary blip or (2) a longer term trend in the making.

Today we visited BMW Welt (World) and the BMW Museum in Munich. BMW Welt was designed by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU out of Vienna. It is the result of a design competition that the BMW Group held in 2001. Construction of the ~73,000 square meter facility was completed in 2007. The project is centered around a great hall and an elevated vehicle delivery area known as Premiere. It was designed -- and this includes the HVAC system -- to handle 40 car deliveries per hour, or 250 per day. I guess they don't work a full 8 hours. Below are two photos that I took of the delivery area. The circles you see on the floor in the second picture are rotating platforms. This is where you want to pick up your new car.

And here is a plan of the entire Welt space via COOP HIMMELB(L)AU:

I also really enjoyed the BMW Museum, which is housed in a separate building adjacent to the BMW Tower (the one that looks like engine cylinders). The "art cars" were a lot of fun. I'm sure that many of you will be able to guess the artist behind this one:

But what I enjoyed most were the classics like this one here:

The least interesting cars for me were the ones that weren't old enough to be "classic", but also weren't new and shiny. This can happen with architectural styles as well. Designs sometime need time to settle in. For more photos of BMW Welt and the BMW Museum, follow me on Instagram. Drawings/Isometrics: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU

Below is a photo of Interstate 95 near Miami, which, for the record, I myself did not take while driving.

The two empty lanes that you see are the “Express Lanes.” The price for using these lanes varies based on demand.

During periods of low demand, the toll could be around $0.20 per mile. 

During periods of high demand, such as during rush hour, it might be $1 per mile. 

And during unusually heavy periods, like when there’s an accident, it could be more.

We used these lanes while driving around the Miami area on this trip. The pricing always seemed reasonable and the lanes were never congested.

I think the above picture is a good demonstration of how dynamic road pricing can be used alleviate traffic congestion.

That’s why many cities, such as Portland, are exploring it as a solution. I wish Toronto would do the same.

For a number of years now, urbanists – including myself – have been thinking about “peak car.” And that’s because if you looked at vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the United States since about 2007, the trend line was more or less flat. 

This had us wondering whether or it was simply an outcome of the recession or some sort of broader shift.

Well, if you look at the December 2015 numbers from the U.S. Department of Transportation, VMTs are once again growing. In fact, it’s now above the 2007 “peak.” Compared to December 2014, travel on all roads and streets in December 2015 was up by 4.2% or 10.6 billion vehicle miles traveled. 

Here’s the chart:

A lot of this could be because of lower gas prices. But I would be curious to hear your thoughts in the comments about whether or not you think 2007 to 2014 was (1) a recessionary blip or (2) a longer term trend in the making.