Toyota creating a “living laboratory” with a price tag exceeding 10 billion dollars

The first residents of the smart city near Mount Fuji in Japan will be moving in soon. Less than four years ago, Toyota announced their ambitious project called Woven City. This city is being referred to as a “living laboratory”, where new technologies and modes of transportation will be tested and developed. The company has announced that the first residents will be moving into this experimental city by the end of the year.

Built on the site of a former Toyota factory in northeastern Japan, Woven City resembles a regular city with shops and offices. The city will serve as a testing ground for various technologies such as hydrogen production, autonomous vehicles, robots, and artificial intelligence. The estimated cost of the project is over 10 billion dollars.

The residents of Woven City will live in environmentally friendly homes constructed from wood and powered by hydrogen and solar panels. The city spans 0.708 square kilometers and is divided into three zones: pedestrian-only streets, driveways for autonomous cars, and routes for active forms of movement like cycling.

Toyota has partnered with the renowned international Architects Office Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) on this project. BIG is known for its iconic projects such as the Via 57 West residential building in New York. The goal of Woven City is to accelerate technology and service innovations, particularly in the field of mobility.

The city is named after Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Industries and inventor of the automatic loom. Woven City pays homage to his legacy, as “woven” translates to “kontottu” in Finnish. This innovative project has gained attention from outlets like Interesting Engineering for its potential to shape the future of urban living and transportation.