Cooling Phoenix's Urban Heat Island — By Hanging Strands Of Rope

By Mark Brodie
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 12:33pm

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There are a lot of ideas for ways to deal with the urban heat island in Phoenix. But here’s one you probably haven’t thought of: a series of pieces of rope hanging over streets or green spaces.

That’s the idea behind a proposal called Jacaranda Avenue from a Phoenix architectural firm. It was a competition entry from a couple of years ago, and envisions the structures covering 1st Avenue in downtown Phoenix roughly between Washington and Roosevelt.

Jacaranda street rope plan
Blank Studio Design and Architecture
Renderings of Jacaranda Avenue.

The Show met with the two guys behind the idea on that street just north of Monroe. Matthew Trzebiatowski is an architect with Blank Studio Design and Architecture and Samuel Martin is a Project Manager there. We started our conversation by asking about their vision for what the area could look like.

The two acknowledged the project might be expensive to build, but argued not doing anything could be more expensive. They could also see trying something similar in other parts of the Valley, like on Scottsdale Road — connecting Old Town to North Scottsdale — or on Mill Avenue in Tempe.

Jacaranda street rope plan
Mark Brodie/KJZZ
Matthew Trzebiatowski (left) and Samuel Martin with a rendering of Jacaranda Avenue and the rope they're proposing using to help cool down Phoenix.

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