In the age of cellphones, telephone booths have become obsolete. Yet during 2012's Superstorm Sandy, the anachronistic infrastructure was one of the few communication systems that remained operational in Manhattan, thanks to its independent network of copper lines. In 2013, New York City held a Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge to elicit ideas for a 21st-century phone booth. FXFowle Architects answered the call with NYC Loop, a piece of urban furniture brimming with features. Juror Bill Kreysler saw great value in its "practical day-today applications." The proposed NYC Loop comes equipped with a Wi-Fi hub, touchscreens for maps and weather, a Bluetooth connection, a cellphone charging station, and a bench for people-watching. The open-air structure has a frequency-specific system to mask ambient street noise, creating an oasis of relative quiet beneath its canopy. "We have investigated using a similar technology in the design of open office plans," says Guy Geier, FAIA, managing partner at FXFowle.
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