Tehnici alternative pentru gândirea drumurilor (şi de mare viteză) – incursiune în estetica drumurilor
Alternative techniques for thinking roads (and high speed ones) – incursion into road aesthetics

Author(s): Mihai Cristian Gabriel Miron
Subject(s): Economy, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Architecture, Transport / Logistics
Published by: INCD URBAN-INCERC
Keywords: (high-speed) roads; (visual) perception; (road) aesthetics; non-places; (cultural) sensitivity;
Summary/Abstract: In a world dominated by speed and efficiency, roads and the spaces on their edges have been reduced to simple transport infrastructures, sacrificing the sensitive relationship with the (road) landscape. The article proposes rethinking roads as aesthetic and narrative spaces, using cinematic, theatrical and graphic lenses to restore the affective and identity connection with the environment. The key questions aim at rehumanizing the road and recovering the contemplative dimension of the journey. Driving is a visual experience directed by rules, infrastructure and landscape elements. The windshield functions as a cinema screen, and the driver, limited by the context, only partially controls the image. In order to transform the road from a simple circulation axis into an aesthetic and affective experience, interventions that bring variation, rhythm and restore dialogue with the landscape and the crossed settlements are essential. Furthermore, the impact of excessive speed on human perception is analyzed. On high-speed roads, the driving experience is transformed into a suspended motion: isolation increases, spatial understanding decreases, and the driver alternates between hyper-concentration and passivity. The landscape becomes monotonous and decorative, lifeless. In parallel, cinema has illustrated similarities between the perception of roads and the atmosphere of expressionist or noir films, emphasizing the contrast between dynamic and uniform spaces, between uncertainty and apparent safety. High-speed roads become non-places: spaces without identity, memory or emotional anchors. The experience of travel is reduced to an abstract movement, isolated from reality. For pedestrians or nearby residents, the roads appear as an alienating spectacle, in which speed and the continuous flow of vehicles erase the human relationship with space. The article raises the question of whether roads can be designed to restore the connection between people and place. A holistic approach to road design is proposed, combining aesthetics, ecology and local identity. Roads can become compositional routes, alternating open and closed frames, cultural landmarks and recognizable landscapes. By integrating stopping spaces and visual markings, the travel experience is enriched, and the relationship between the traveler and the environment is renewed. Therefore, roads can become scenes of the landscape and spaces of dialogue between people and territory, not just axes of travel. A road aesthetic is needed that supports attention, orientation and connection with the environment. Through a subtle composition of frames, lights, shadows and vegetal interventions, the road can offer a coherent and sensitive experience, reconnecting the traveler with the soil and the traversed landscape.

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