2023 Award Winner!
Thomas Purchase
Toronto-based designer Thomas Purchase is passionate about innovative design solutions and rich problem discovery. The Bachelor of Industrial Design program at Humber has made a life changing impact on Thomas’ life, and he hopes to create meaningful change in the industry of consumer product design.
The Four Essential Pillars for Design Excellence
The four essential pillars encompass human-centric design approach and the understanding of full-bodied, three dimensional physical interaction of user, product and environment. The projects generate innovative solutions using research-driven, evidence-based designs which focus on the user experience.
Enhancement of Human Lifestyle
Terra is designed to improve the city experience through an innovative public transportation solution.
Connect with the street environment through open-air window design, allowing fresh air and local culture to connect with riders inside the vehicle.
Human-Interaction & User-Centric Design
Terra is designed considering diverse, global transit experiences to address issues like crowding, privacy, accessibility, and availability.
A hop-on hop-off experience makes Terra quick, convenient, and familiar for both local and visiting users. Enjoy a view of urban nature from any spot in the staggered privacy seating, creating a more connected sense of travel.
Ergonomics & Human Factors Design
Terra features three styles of seating to accommodate individual preference and group requirement.
Designed to be stepless, Terra is fully accessible to all users - accommodating up to four wheelchairs or strollers with safety harnesses. Both comfortable and durable, all seating is easily replaceable for regular maintenance.
Sustainability & Social Responsibility
Terra restructures urban transportation to prioritize sustainability at systemic, vehicle, and experience level design.
Maglev technology effectively eliminates local emissions and vehicle particulates leading to clean air and clean streets.
Terra - Rethinking Urban Transportation
Project Summary
Urban transportation is the crucial limiting factor for a local economy. This thesis project, Terra, aimed to discover the root causes of both human interaction and system-level design flaws in existing solutions to conceptualize a better public transportation solution. Fundamentally, this thesis determines how revolutionary urban transportation can be built in a newly constructed city for the populations of Southeast Asia. Terra is a Maglev Streetcar designed for the year 2050 in pursuit of a vision for a cleaner future.
Thesis Summary Motion Presentation
Watch this video to learn about Terra, a Maglev Streetcar that rethinks public transportation.
Thesis Visual Presentation
Click the image to enlarge.
Thesis Development Process
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