Humphreys & Partners Skyport Rendering
At the Uber Elevate 2018 conference last week in Los Angeles, the ride-sharing company announced six finalists for the Elevate Skyport Challenge.
Among those six, were several architecture and design firms with North Texas connections. That’s little surprise since Uber is partnering with Hillwood and Bell Helicopter to develop an on-demand urban aviation infrastructure.
Uber challenged several firms to design an infrastructure that will support an uberAIR Skyport platform to safely and efficiently transport people via Electric Vertical Take-off and Landings (eVTOLs). No surprise that the designs were futuristic.
The Beck Group, Corgan, Humphreys & Partners Architects and BOKA Powell are among the six who presented plans during the event.
The Beck Group’s Skyport design, “The Hive,” draws inspiration from the transportation hubs of the past and the hexagonal form found in hives created by honeybees.
“Its shape is organic, practical and serves as a metaphor for activity,” said Principal Architect Michael Kaiser. “Skyport will be scalable, a key factor, as this type of transportation grows in popularity among Uber’s ever-mobile clientele.” Kaiser presented The Beck Group’s plan in front of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and other executives on May 9.
Humphreys & Partners Architects L.P. also unveiled a series of Skyport and Mega-Skyport architecture plans, renderings and ideas at the summit.
Humphreys Vice President of Design, Walter Hughes conceptualized two distinctive ports for eVTOL aircrafts that would serve 5,400 passengers per hour with 180 landings/takeoffs per hour. Hughes proposed constructing the façade using a combination of innovative self-healing bio-concrete and foliage; this will not only add an eco-friendly element to the project but helps reduce noise and pollution.
“When designing the Skyport and Mega-Skyport, it was important to think about concepts that fit present-day technology and existing developments, but can also adapt with shifting trends…Uber Elevate offers a viable solution,” he said. “We focused on a design that can easily be replicated. Add retail, office and more and we’ve expanded the meaning of a multi-use space.”
Corgan revealed its Uber Mega Skyport concept, CONNECT, providing the infrastructure to support and scale UberAIR service. Corgan’s plans support vertical take-off and landing, passenger throughput and maintenance for a fleet of aerial vehicles with the flexibility to scale up to 1,000 landings per hour.
Corgan’s modular system is adaptable anywhere and can operate independently, be paired for efficiency, or be stacked to maximize throughput at Uber Mega Skyports, according to the firm. Where individual landing pads provide on-demand connectivity at popular locations, Corgan’s design coordinates with established highway networks to create new travel arteries that can accommodate the higher throughput required of mass adoption.
Built above highways, the design solves for widespread infrastructure by repurposing familiar frameworks and amplifying efficiency and convenience to create a new culture of urban mobility while reconnecting the communities they serve.
Corgan’s CONNECT module consists of four components. The Bridge is a futuristic structural piece sculpted by passenger flow helping visitors navigate the Skyport. The Connection Plaza is an iconic entry to the amenities at the Station, a concourse, which connects passengers to the crowning Flight Deck.
In addition to massive scalability, CONNECT provides solutions to potential challenges in getting eVTOLs off the ground. Situating Skyports within existing highways and noise corridors minimizes added noise and intrusion. Floor movement and tug propulsion strategies allow for safer, longer passenger loading and unloading without backing up operations. Corgan also explored three major configurations to meet throughput demand, limit movement near the launching areas, and provide for intuitive wayfinding. The modular design is flexible for several site conditions including open fields, rooftops and site constrained urban environments.
BOKA Powell presented “Skyport,” a vision for an urban airport structure supporting a VTOL aircraft network.
“Skyport” takes inspiration from the dynamics of flight, connecting Uber car passengers to Uber’s VTOL network through a vertically-oriented, open-air structure, according to a BOKA Powell news release. BOKA Powell’s design can accommodate 1,000 vehicle take-offs and 1,000 vehicle landings per hour (some 2,000 to 4,000 passengers per hour). The structure’s operation is flexible, even allowing for a reversal of vehicle movement to accommodate changes in prevailing wind directions. Skyport takes passengers from curb to cockpit, or vice-versa, in average of less than 3 minutes. Sustainable innovations include micro-turbines integrated into the structure’s skin, turbine-powered regeneration cells at each take-off and landing pad, “living” vegetated walls throughout, and a photovoltaic-clad sun shade covering the building.
“A building typology so epic in scale and yet so clearly comprehended and practical in its use, this Skyport concept soars into the sky with dramatic aspiration for the future of flight and transit. The real key to this solution is the mechanical precision and syncopated rhythm of handling both the aircraft and the customers. By solving these complex processes, the spirit and wonder of future aviation dreams are possible,” said Andrew Bennett, Principal at BOKA Powell.
For more information: www.uber.com/info/elevate/summit/
For more on the Humphreys & Partners proposal: https://humphreys.com/uber-elevate-2018/