Archinect - News

Foster + Partners unveils vertiport terminal concept for Dubai

2023-04-10T12:15:00-04:00

A new electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) terminal concept has been unveiled by Foster + Partners.

The firm says its plan would augment the Dubai International Airport (DBX) and was developed in unison with Skyports Infrastructure, which Foster + Partners called a leader in advanced air mobility (AAM). It will help transport air travelers to other nodes in the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)’s planned vertiport and metro infrastructure network, itself a zero emissions high-speed system that’s currently being promoted by the government and the emirate's monarch Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Image courtesy Foster + Partners

Placed in the context of Foster + Partners’ other airport designs in the region, the vertiport project will serve as a compliment to its previously proposed King Salman International Airport and the forthcoming Red Sea Airport, both of which are located in Saudi Arabia and were begun in the two years since the firm’s controversial withd...

Move over, Google Earth: Swiss tech startup uses enhanced aerial photography to create better 3D models of cities for urban planners

2022-12-19T17:06:00-05:00

A new approach uses aerial imaging to generate 3D models of cities and regions with advanced precision, enabling urban planners to incorporate full-scale designs of all types of architectural and urban structures.

Tech start-up Uzufly operates out of the Le Garage space located inside the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)’s expanding Innovation Park. "The company's 3D models incorporate a wide range of urban-planning data and can accommodate any type of architectural design at full scale," reports Tech Xplore's Sandy Evangelista.

Previously on Archinect: Scientists are using deep learning data to map structure damage from wildfires

"We basically use the same technology as Google Earth — that is, aerial photography," Uzufly co-founder Théo Benazzi explains. "But while Google uses airplanes to take huge numbers of pictures at high altitudes, we use drones that have smaller cameras and capture images much closer to the ground. That's why we can generate 3D models at the level of a neighborhood or an entire city."

The team is currently working with the EPFL's Arts of Sciences Laboratory (LAPIS) and the Swiss National Science Foundation to produce a digital twin of an unnamed Egyptian...

Researchers develop autonomous 3D-printing drones inspired by bees

2022-09-22T14:59:00-04:00

An international team of researchers from Imperial College London and the Swiss Federal Laboratories of Materials Science and Technology have developed autonomous, bee-inspired 3D-printing drones. They would work in fleets, cooperatively building and repairing structures while flying.

The drones, collectively, are known as Aerial Additive Manufacturing (Aerial-AM). The system consists of BuilDrones, which deposit materials during flight, and quality-controlling ScanDrones. While fully autonomous, human intervention is still required to keep an eye on the progress.

The researchers believe this technology can provide a safer approach for building or repairing structures in precarious situations.

The research was led by Professor Mirko Kovac of Imperial’s Department of Aeronautics and the Swiss Federal Laboratories of Materials Science and Technology’s Materials and Technology Center of Robotics.

Aerial AM foam 3D print made by a BuilDrone and a ScanDrone. Image: Sarah Lever Photogr...

Flying cars will exist in cities by 2030 according to Hyundai's Europe chief

2021-06-30T17:14:00-04:00

According to South Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai, flying cars will exist in cities around the world by the end of this decade.

At the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) conference, a trade association for the United Kingdom motor industry, Michael Cole, the president and chief executive of Hyundai’s European operations, said the company has made “very significant investments” in urban air mobility.

“We think that by the latter part of this decade certainly, urban air mobility will offer great opportunity to free up congestion in cities, to help with emissions, whether that’s intra-city mobility in the air or whether it’s even between cities.”

Developing its urban air mobility program is part of Hyundai’s mission to become a provider of smart mobility services, which includes the creation of more efficient electric vehicles.

In January 2020, Hyundai unveiled its flying car concept, developed alongside Uber, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The eVTOL,...

Skydio releases autonomous drone software that can create detailed 3D models in real time

2021-06-04T19:15:00-04:00

Earlier this week, U.S. autonomous drone manufacturer, Skydio, launched Skydio 3D Scan, an adaptive scanning software that allows its drones to generate incredibly detailed 3D models of real-world settings with a very high degree of autonomy.

3D Scan is equipped with advanced artificial intelligence skills that automate photographic data collection and mapping functions for important tasks ranging from infrastructure asset inspection to digital twin generation as well as crime and accident scene reconstruction.

"Corsair Jet", an image of an old jet captured with 3D Scan and a Skydio drone. Image: Skydio

In real time, objects and locations can be digitized and explored. Bridges and roads that may be in need of structural repair, accident sites, and clients looking to inspect construction sites can receive explicitly detailed, 3D recreations of these scenes.

According to Skydio, the software has been tested by the likes of the North Carolina Department of Transportation for bridge i...

Aerial reforestation by drone: Flash Forest Kickstarter wants to plant a billion trees by 2028

2019-12-26T14:13:00-05:00

[...] a team of Canadian science and engineering graduates is pitching a dream to plant a billion trees by 2028 using drones. The project is dubbed Flash Forest and combines the use of drones with specially-designed pods and an accelerated seed germination process. According to Flash Forest, its technology can plant trees 10 times faster than a single worker and at a cost that is 80 percent cheaper than traditional tree planting methods.

On their Kickstarter page, the team behind the Toronto-based Flash Forest project explains what happens before and after heavy-lift drones pneumatically fire their custom-designed seed pods into the ground: "Before we plant our pods, we pre-germinate the seeds inside using our own 'secret sauce.' This ensures that the seeds have already sprouted before they’re even in the ground and that they have a strong rooting system when they grow. Not only that, but after we plant them we follow up with our spraying drone to remove competition and provide nitrogen and other nutrients for the best chance of success. We continuously monitor our seedlings with the mapping drone to make sure they’re healthy."

Carlo Ratti uses drones to set the tone for a technological future in artistic collaboration

2019-08-03T09:57:00-04:00

Architect Carlo Ratti's design studio has utilized drone technology to produce a crowdsourced work of art in Turin, Italy. Measuring in at 46 x 39 feet, the project was developed as part of UFO-Urban Flying Opera, a participatory technology and art project funded by Compagnia di San Paolo.

Created by four UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) working in unison for two straight days, the vertical graffiti has proved to be the result of a fruitful experiment. According to Ratti's firm, this marked the first time a swarm of drones were employed to create a collaborative piece of art.

Crowdsourcing was a foundational building block in the project. The final product was the result of feedback received from over a thousand participants. The public was invited to contribute visual content that conveyed their thoughts, hopes, and ideas regarding what cities should look like.

“The city is an open canvas, where people can inscribe their stories in many ways,” says Ratti.“Such processes have alwa...

San Francisco's Salesforce Tower deploys drones to inspect its 1,070-foot-tall facade

2019-03-13T13:56:00-04:00

Salesforce Tower, San Francisco’s tallest building, can be seen for miles around the Bay Area. But to inspect the building’s exterior for potential damage, owner Boston Properties needed to get close. So it enlisted a drone. At 1,070 feet, the tower is a major example of the growing use of drones for building and construction inspections.

The SF Chronicle writes about the increasing deployment of flying high-tech equipment to cut down on the inspection time (and cost) on very large buildings, such as Salesforce Tower: "The small aircraft, which now have high definition cameras, are cheaper, faster and safer than traditional human inspections, said Zeev Braude, CEO of SiteAware, which created the drone software used in the Salesforce Tower inspection."

Despite all the technological advancements, the age of human building facade inspections isn't entirely over yet and, instead, takes to new heights: Meet New York City's fearless rope-access building inspectors.

Lake Victoria Challenge looks to drone technology to transform rural mobility in the region

2018-12-07T14:36:00-05:00

The most densely populated rural area in the world, East Africa's Lake Victoria basin is home to 35 million people. Many in hard-to-reach, rural locations, these communities often lack necessary infrastructure, separating them from vital services as well as from markets where they can sell their produce.

Aimed at taking on these challenges, the Tanzanian government has teamed up with four organizations—including UNICEF, and the World Bank—to look at the potential of deploying drone technologies in the region. Known as the Lake Victoria challenge, the initiative aims at providing long-term opportunities for growth.

“The rural island communities in and around Mwanza are often only accessible by boat, which can be slow and expensive," said Hon. John Mongella, the Regional Commissioner of the Mwanza Region. "A drone network will support this existing infrastructure, improving access to healthcare and opportunity.”

Lake Victoria Challenge. Photo by Chris Morgan (Fundi Films/World Bank)

La...

Record heatwave is revealing hidden historic sites across Britain

2018-07-30T15:15:00-04:00

Southern England has been particularly parched, enjoying the driest June on record, but the hot weather has lead to an array of unlikely discoveries across the British Isles. Outlines of ancient and historic sites are being revealed – some of which haven’t been seen in living memory.

"As the grass and crops dry out in the fields, the remains of wood and stone features are being spotted. The effect is caused by soil building up above the foreign material left in the ground over centuries in a way that makes the live material react to the conditions at a different rate to that found within regular soil," The Telegraph explains the phenomenon of 'ghost gardens' which have been appearing across Britain during the country's most extreme heatwave in decades.

The increased prevalence of drone and aerial photography has made it much easier to spot them than during previous heatwaves.

Uber reveals six "Skyport" designs for its flying taxis

2018-05-11T16:06:00-04:00

If Uber is to get its “flying taxi” service off the ground, it will need dozens of launchpads and landing sites on rooftops around cities as a supportive infrastructure. At the ride-hailing company’s second annual Elevate conference in Los Angeles, six architecture firms presented their winning designs of what these so-called “Skyports” could look like. And holy cow, these things look straight out of Star Wars.

It was all futuristic sky towers, helipads, and beehive references this week when six architecture firms presented their "uberAIR Skyport" design proposals for Uber's autonomous flying taxi service in the not-too-distant future.

According to the call for proposals, all facilities needed to be able to handle 4,000 passengers an hour within a three-acre footprint, provide charging spots for all the eVTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) aircrafts, and minimize environmental impact on adjacent neighborhoods.

The selected firms and proposals are:

↑ Gannett Fleming: "The Paw"

↑ Pickard Chilton and Arup: "Sky Tower"

↑ Corgan: "Connect"

↑ The Beck Group: "The Hive"

↑ BOKA Powell: "Skyport Prototype"

(Cover picture) Humphreys & Partners: "Uber Hover"

Watch the archived live stream of the entire Uber Elevate Summit design presentation here.

Foster + Partners' new Shenzhen HQ for drone maker DJI will feature robot fighting rings

2018-05-09T15:54:00-04:00

First renderings were unveiled today of Dajiang Innovation HQ, the slick new Shenzhen headquarters of drone maker and robotics company DJI.

Designed by Foster + Partners, the ensemble of two mirrored towers connected via a not so undramatic sky bridge is currently under construction.

Foster + Partners: Dajiang Innovation HQ, Shenzhen, China

"The twin towers combine sensitive research and development spaces with office and other public functions," the project description explains. "The floors are arranged in floating volumes cantilevered from central cores by large steel megatrusses – creating large, column-free spaces throughout, with unique quadruple-height drone flight testing labs. The towers are linked by a sky bridge, which will become another platform for showcasing the latest drone technology."

Foster + Partners: Dajiang Innovation HQ, Shenzhen, China

"The ground floor features a public exhibition space that pays tribute to DJI’s extraordinary reputation for technological develo...

FAA restricts drones over ten major U.S. landmarks, including St. Louis Gateway Arch, Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore

2017-10-02T14:14:00-04:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a new regulation restricting unauthorized drone operations over 10 Department of Interior sites, including the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore. [...] The announcement says the action comes at "the request of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies."

These new FAA restrictions will be effective as of October 5 so make sure to keep your drones at least 400 feet away from these ten National Landmarks:

Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, NY
Boston National Historical Park (U.S.S. Constitution), Boston, MA
Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
Folsom Dam; Folsom, CA
Glen Canyon Dam; Lake Powell, AZ
Grand Coulee Dam; Grand Coulee, WA
Hoover Dam; Boulder City, NV
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial; St. Louis, MO
Mount Rushmore National Memorial; Keystone, SD
Shasta Dam; Shasta Lake, CA

Flyover Moscow with aerial photography of the city's architectural icons

2017-08-23T09:00:00-04:00

In a scene from Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams' character, the English teacher John Keating, famously climbs on top his desk to remind himself, and his students, that "we must look at things in a different way. The world looks very different from up here." Thanks to satellite and drone technology, we can now take Williams' advice quite literally by looking at the world from up above.

Sadovye Kvartaly Residential Complex

Using a remote-controlled drone, the photographer Denis Esakov has done just that by capturing the amazing "fifth facades" of Moscow's architecture. Photographing over seventy buildings throughout Europe's largest metropolis, Esakov flies over the city to reveal previously unseen geometries of the city's greatest architectural icons. The new vantage point exposes intriguing compositions that spark a re-evaluation of the works themselves and a query into the hidden symbolism behind the plans that up until now, have remained the secret of the architects and their c...

An exquisite drone tour over Apple's new campus reveals the pond, furniture, + a new theater

2017-04-20T12:35:00-04:00

Like a miniature perfectionist city, the new Apple campus in Cupertino is made up of several different buildings: there's the familiar Norman Foster-designed "spaceship," as well as a massive parking garage that features gleaming solar panels atop the roof.

This drone video reveals that very little of the landscaping has come in yet--a few trees, in their boxy planters, hang out outside the main building, and only a few plants have been installed in the equipment-strewn courtyard--but it offers an excellent tour of the Steve Jobs Theatre which is slated to open this summer:

7-Eleven becomes first retailer to employ drone delivery

2017-01-02T16:50:00-05:00

7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store chain, shared new numbers from its drone delivery experiment today. Seventy-seven customers in Reno, Nev., have now received items ordered from 7-Eleven delivered to their doorsteps via drone. All 77 flights were from one store to a dozen select customers who live within a mile of the shop. 7-Eleven has partnered with the drone maker Flirtey for its delivery pilot.

It marks the first regular commercial drone delivery service to operate in the United States, flying ahead of other, potentially bigger drone delivery projects that haven’t yet been able to take off in the U.S. — like Alphabet’s Project Wing and Amazon’s Prime Air, the latter of which only demonstrated its first delivery to a customer last week.

Take a flight through Herzog & de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie, in classical or metal speed

2016-12-20T18:43:00-05:00

For those who have been eagerly anticipating a look inside Herzog & de Meuron's Elbphilharmonie before it officially opens this January, your chance has come in the form of a website feature which allows you to navigate through the space at your chosen speed via your preferred web browsing device. Here's a preview video that gives you a sense of the magnificence of the interior (as well as the ebuillenece of the soundtracked touring experience). Voila:

Watch this 6-month time lapse drone video of the Apple Campus 2

2016-12-16T18:47:00-05:00

With all the drone construction videos of the new Apple Campus 2 (AC2) circulating on the interwebs, it's easy to lose track of what the progress has been on this Foster-designed Goliath of a project just in recent months.

Luckily this latest 4K video by Matthew Roberts on YouTube provides a handy 6-month time lapse of key campus sites, like 'the Spaceship,' auditorium/theater, primary access tunnel, research & development facility, the atrium, main parking garages, fitness center, maintenance facility, and the infamous 'mountain of dirt.'

Watch the video further below.

All images via Matthew Roberts' drone video on YouTube.

More recent AC2 news on Archinect:

Uber takes to the skies with a new advertising strategy in Mexico DF

2016-10-17T18:45:00-04:00

Mexico City is notorious for its gridlock (and the smog it produces). The ride-sharing platform Uber has taken advantage of this captive audience with an unusual advertising medium: drones.

As reported by Bloomberg, Uber has sent off a fleet of sign-bearing drones to hover over windshields. “Driving by yourself?” asks one in Spanish. “That’s why you can never see the volcanoes.”

Mexico City represents Uber’s biggest market, so the unique (and aggressive) advertising strategy makes some sense. No word yet on any drone-provoked fender benders.

For more on Uber and its influence on cities, follow these links:

Efficiency-enhancing drones could dramatically reduce construction costs

2016-09-27T13:32:00-04:00

According to this Fortune article, it's estimated that the construction industry wastes billions of dollars annually in poorly organized and distributed materials, a practice that could be eliminated with omnipresent flying drones. The trick is to create software that can process what the drones see on each construction site into data that humans can quickly comprehend and efficiently implement. Autodesk is investing in developing software and hardware that can convey this information, which may dramatically cut construction costs (and perhaps make architects rethink how they bill for projects).

For more on drones:

Airbus promises autonomous flying taxis in the (very) near future

2016-08-26T14:12:00-04:00

Airbus appears to be serious about its "Vahana" project, aimed at creating an autonomous passenger drone network, and thinks testing can begin as early as 2017. [...] Airbus is also working on a drone delivery service [...] and plans to start testing it at a Singapore university by mid-2017. The cargo-laden vehicles fly automated routes in "aerial corridors," then drop them off and send delivery notifications to customers.

Airbus engineers are dreaming up no small endeavor as laid out in the company's Future of Urban Mobility vision:

"Imagine landing at a major international airport after a long flight in an A380. Instead of suffering through a 90-minute taxi ride in the megacity’s gridlocked traffic, you hop into an electrically operated aerial vehicle from zenHOP, which brings you to your destination – landing on your chosen zenHUB – in just nine minutes. Too expensive? No, zenMOVE has found three other travellers who also want to get to the city centre. As a result, the flight costs no more than a taxi ride. On top of that, no need to worry about your luggage – zenLUGGAGE takes care of that – or your security, as zenCYBER protects your flight against hacker attacks."

↑ Illustration of Airbus' Skyways drone parcel delivery service, which will enter test mode on the campus of the National University of Singapore in mid-2017.

Designing for drones: a condo tower with drone-friendly balconies

2016-08-15T13:08:00-04:00

Make no mistake: Drones are coming, and they’re going to change a lot of things about how we shape our lives. So why shouldn’t we change how we shape our buildings to get ready for them? [...] That’s the basis for my Drone Tower, which would look like a futuristic condo building, with large balconies built to accommodate small electric aircraft or shipping drones. You wouldn’t need to buy your own drone, you’d simply order a ride with an app like a taxi—and hop in right from your terrace.

For more on the intersections between autonomous flying machines and the city, check out these links:

Unequal Scenes: drone images reveal Cape Town's "architecture of apartheid"

2016-06-03T18:54:00-04:00

In any city, space is a commodity. In South African cities space is historical and emotional. A new photo series by an American living in Cape Town captures the dramatic inequality of South Africa’s most beloved city. From an aerial view, Cape Town’s scenic beauty gives way to a stark reminder of the country’s past and the continued racial segregation. [...] “Looking straight down from a height of several hundred meters, incredible scenes of inequality emerge,” he writes on his website.

On his website, Unequal Scenes, the creator of the aerial imagery, Johnny Miller, writes:

"Discrepancies in how people live are sometimes hard to see from the ground. The beauty of being able to fly is to see things from a new perspective - to see things as they really are. Looking straight down from a height of several hundred meters, incredible scenes of inequality emerge. Some communities have been expressly designed with separation in mind, and some have grown more or less organically."

"During apartheid, segregation of urban spaces was instituted as policy. Roads, rivers, “buffer zones” of empty land, and other barriers were constructed and modified to keep people separate. 22 years after the end of apartheid, many of these barriers, and the inequalities they have engendered, still exist. Oftentimes, communities of extreme wealth and privilege will exist just meters from squalid conditions and shack dwellings."

"My desire with this project is to portray the most Unequal Scenes in ...

This drone video takes you on a fascinating flight through the guts of Seattle's Bertha tunneling machine

2016-05-06T15:15:00-04:00

As Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct sat free of cars overhead and drivers attempted to move around the city during the roadway’s planned 2-week closure, a new drone video Tuesday showcased again what all the fuss is about. A view inside the SR 99 tunnel won’t get much better than this until you’re actually able to drive through it. [...] The 4-minute video captures what has been built behind nearly 1,600 feet of mining along Seattle’s waterfront.

Bertha previously in the Archinect news: Seattle's massive Bertha tunnel drill is up for repair, but still faces a shaky outlook

Here comes the "dronescraper"

2016-03-31T15:23:00-04:00

A drone skyscraper has been proposed by designers Hadeel Ayed Mohammed, Yifeng Zhao and Chengda Zhu that acts as a central control terminal for drones to dock and recharge, situated in the heart of Manhattan. The ‘dronescraper’, dubbed ‘the hive’ has been proposed as an alternative to Rafael Vinoy’s 432 Park Avenue superstructure, which is set to become the tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere.

The skyscraper has been undergoing some significant design reconceptualizations lately. Here's a round-up of the most interesting takes:

To better predict sea level rise, scientists resort to crowdsourcing and ask drone owners to help create data

2016-01-19T14:24:00-05:00

Using drones for aerial photography has been a source of controversy for several years now. But amid increasing concerns over privacy and safety, some conservation scientists are hoping drone owners will help them to document sea level rise. With an expected increase in storm activity in the Pacific Ocean this winter, scientists believe they are getting a glimpse of the impacts of climate change on coastlines.

To see an interactive example of a DroneDeploy-stitched high-resolution map, click here.

The Ehang passenger drone might be another way people will get around town someday

2016-01-08T19:54:00-05:00

The idea behind the Chinese-built 184 is that users will simply get in, power it up, select their destination using a 12-inch touchscreen tablet display, then press the 'take-off' button. The drone's automated flight systems will take over from there, managing tasks such as communication with air traffic control and other aircraft, obstacle avoidance, and of course navigation...

Self-driving cars, self-driving bikes, the Hyperloop slowly becoming a reality, what's next for urban mobility? Self-driving passenger drones, of course. Smart-drone enterprise Ehang unveiled a single-seat, battery-powered Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) called the Ehang 184 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The quadcopter was built for short-to-medium-distance personal transit, and users won't need a piloting license to operate it. Apparently, it'll be commercially available later this year for $200,000-$300,000, Gizmag writes. If this technology really *ahem* takes off, the FAA will surely have a field day regulating it.

License and registration, please: new FAA regulations mandate drone registration

2015-12-22T19:09:00-05:00

Starting on Monday, individuals who own recreational drones will have to register their devices with the Federal Aviation Administration. The mandatory registration program applies to drones that weigh between 0.55 and 55 pounds.

According to the report, drones that were purchased before yesterday have to be registered by February 19th, 2016. If you buy a drone in the future, then you'll have to register it before flying it for the first time.

If you don't, prepare to pay a steep fine: up to $27,500. That being said, registration is only $5 and you can do it online. If you register within 30 days of the law going into effect (on Jan. 20), then the fee will be waived. It's pretty much a no-brainer.

For more info, check out the FAA's instructions. Happy droning!

Hack The City

2015-12-03T21:00:00-05:00

NBBJ calls the concept No-Shadow Tower, though it would be more accurate to call it the Smaller-Shadow-From-One-of-Two-Towers, since it depends on a pair of buildings separated by an open space. For that reason, the technique is an awkward fit for New York

A weeklong series of ideas for improving urban life, ranging from an examination of how Next-Generation Drones Will Save New York City’s Infrastructure, to how new building designs will usher in the Age of Shadowless Skyscrapers.

Begin your week with this serene video of two drones building a bridge by themselves

2015-09-21T12:56:00-04:00

These magnanimous drones, themselves having no need for a footbridge, build a suspension bridge for their human underlings in the Flying Machine Arena laboratory of ETH Zurich.

Developed as part of ongoing research in aerial construction, these two quadrocopters are capable of building the entire bridge by dispensing a motorized spool of Dyneema rope between two scaffolding surfaces, using a combination of knots, braids and wraps. When the drones are finished, the triumphant researchers walk from one end to the other.

Video credits: Aerial construction is a collaboration between the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control and Gramazio Kohler Research at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 2015