What are the Spatial Possibilities for Enclosures Within the Highway Interchange?

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Highway interchanges have evolved from important infrastructures that help distribute traffic to unique landmarks that define cities. As multiple road networks embrace and form distinctive sculptures, these road intersections range from singular bridge connections and roundabouts to numerous, layered and multi-layered interchanges. They twist, turn, loop, and wrap around sparse land, vegetation, or existing structures in a bid to transfer travelers from one roadway to another. However, they also create a moment of enclosure, forming partially bounded areas and a sense of space. These spaces could be viewed as liminal and transitional, with no fixed typology able to be hosted. But that blurring character calls for ideas of urban intervention to disrupt the notion of what these spaces can be. They can be readapted from car-dominant sculptures into more human-friendly places and re-integrated as extended schemes of the city's architecture.  

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When considering the possibilities for spaces within highways, it's important to think beyond fixed and finite use cases. Such spaces can include events that take place within the shelter of multilayered bridges and the open spaces of turning radius. To amplify the potential of these imposing highway infrastructures, urban interventions that provoke and draw city residents to interact with them can be implemented.

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Cite: Paul Yakubu. "What are the Spatial Possibilities for Enclosures Within the Highway Interchange?" 19 May 2023. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1001083/what-are-the-spatial-possibilities-for-enclosures-within-the-highway-interchange> ISSN 0719-8884

Aerial view interchange of a city, Expressway is an important infrastructure in Thailand. Image © Pattani Studio/Shutterstock

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