life on a HILL
ROLLTOWN
For people-scale communities
CONCEPT / 2020
In 2020, my long-time friend and micro-transportation pioneer Dan Sturges asked me to design a new multi-family building typology in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where micro-mobility vehicles—bicycles, e-bikes, scooters, and wheelchairs—can roll and park inside each residence. This project evolved from our decades of work on NEVs (neighborhood electric vehicles) and architecture.
Albuquerque’s surrounding Native American cave-based vertical cliff dwellings, accessible from sloping paths, inspired me to experiment with a community-wide roll-friendly ramp to create a vibrant hillside community. The ramp positively influences residents’ daily rhythms and interactions, providing a shared social space where individuals gain a sense of belonging.
PROJECT SIZE
One or more city blocks. The experimental lot size is 560’ x 230’.
26’-wide ramps
MATERIALS
Lightweight micro-mobility vehicles
Multi-family building typology for hillside living
Parking garage below
Dan’s incredible book, Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system, includes my concept, Rolltown, which hides the larger, faster, traditional car-first world of asphalt and parking lots but keeps it available when needed below ground. On top is a hillside world with room for 72 individual 330 sq. ft. living spaces and a 4,500 sq. ft co-working space built on a gently sloping 26-foot-wide ramp. Residents can walk or traverse the entire community in small, lightweight, people-scale vehicles.
At every elevation, each dwelling has a level entry so residents can roll inside and park their vehicles. This accessibility makes shopping and day-to-day mobility more environmentally sustainable and easy and accessible for residents with diverse needs, such as those in wheelchairs. The shared world of hillside living enhances the community’s social cohesion, providing opportunities for essential everyday interactions, from going to the grocery store to spontaneous chats.
FEATURED IN
Near to Far
Rolltown is in Dan Sturges’ 2023 book on a design for new equitable and sustainable transportation system features.
