Rethinking the commute

By Amalia Illgner

It’s 7.30am and your alarm, that spiteful tinpot dictator, has commanded that you wake. You hydrate and caffeinate, and prepare to face a wall of fellow marching zombies. If you’re in Britain you might be one of the 3m people who spend more than two hours travelling to and from work, a number which has soared by 72% in the past decade. But this morning something feels different. As you step onto the road at your familiar crossing, something happens. There’s music and dancing, and colour and smiles. Everywhere you look people are having a ball.

At least that’s what Daniel Hirschmann believes our morning commute should be like. Last month Hirsch & Mann, his design and technology consultancy, won the “Playable City” award (run by Watershed, a social enterprise and charity, in association with the British Council) for “Stop Smile Stroll”. The concept aims to transform the simple act of crossing the road by turning pedestrian crossings into “magical multimedia moments of serendipity”. “My vision,” Hirschmann explains, “is for the traffic lights to turn and for music to erupt with light projections igniting around lowering disco balls. And then – poof! – in the time it takes to cross the road, the carnival will disappear.” The firm will stage a pilot in Bristol, working with the local council and community groups, after which the idea will travel to other cities including Lagos and Tokyo.