Tag Archives: Dubai

Dubai Solar-Powered Rail Bus System Will Bring Us a Marvel Once Again

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Dubai, a city known for pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology, is set to redefine its transportation landscape with two groundbreaking projects. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has recently entered into partnerships with international experts to develop sustainable and futuristic transport solutions. The first memorandum focuses on the development of the Floc Duo Rail system, while the second aims to create a solar-powered rail bus system. These initiatives mark a significant leap forward in Dubai’s commitment to embracing advanced technologies, sustainability, and the future of urban mobility.

Designer: Urban-Mass Company and RAIL BUS Inc.

Over the past 15 years, Dubai has undergone a remarkable transformation, from the inauguration of the iconic Dubai metro in 2009 to the creation of architectural marvels such as the Burj Khalifa and Palm Jumeirah Islands. The UAE has truly made a mark on the map, quite literally with the man-made islands. Dubai has consistently demonstrated a commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible, blending luxury with technological advancements. With a conscious focus on sustainability, Dubai has established forums that encourage initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact.

Floc Duo Rail System:

The Floc Duo Rail system, developed in collaboration with UK-based Urban-Mass Company, is set to revolutionize urban transportation. Comprising driverless, electric-powered pods moving on an elevated track, this innovative system eliminates the need for extensive earthworks, costly tunnels, and large stations. The double-track design enables swift and efficient movement within urban areas, with the added advantage of scalability. The system can be tailored from small local areas to city-wide networks, showcasing its adaptability to various urban environments.

yanko design images to size – Dubai_new_transport_03

Furthermore, the Floc Duo Rail system is characterized by its reliance on solar energy. Equipped with solar panels, the system generates the electricity needed for operation, aligning with Dubai’s commitment to sustainable practices. As a 21st-century mass transit solution, Floc Duo Rail is adaptable to various urban environments, scalable from small local links to extensive city-wide networks. The stations, ranging from ‘bus stops’ to large interchanges, are customized to meet rider demand. Platform lengths are flexible, allowing platoons to break up when entering and exiting stations. The driverless nature of the pods allows for smart-designed capacity adjustments, ensuring energy efficiency by using short units during low peak periods and long units during high peak periods.

Ricky Sandhu, the founder and CEO of Urban.Mass, emphasized the partnership’s significance, stating that it epitomizes the strong commitment of the UK and the UAE to combat climate change. The collaboration is poised to pave the way for sustainable mass transit solutions through innovative technology, reshaping urban mobility in the city.

Solar-Powered Rail Bus System:

In a parallel development, Dubai’s RTA has signed a memorandum with US-based Rail Bus Inc. to develop a solar-powered rail bus system. This system employs small, driverless electric vehicles that run on elevated tracks, emphasizing its lightweight and flexible nature. The adaptability of this system makes it suitable for retrofitting into various environments, offering an environmentally friendly and operationally efficient transportation solution. It’s mostly going to be a smaller size of a metro with an added layer of sustainability.

yanko design images to size – Dubai_new_transport_07

Dubai’s campaign into the future of transportation through the Floc Duo Rail system and the solar-powered rail bus system underscores the city’s commitment to adopting cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices. As the world watches, Dubai continues to position itself as a pioneer in urban mobility, setting the stage for a greener and technologically advanced future. These initiatives not only enhance the city’s quality of life but also contribute to a global conversation about the possibilities and benefits of embracing innovative and sustainable transportation solutions.

The post Dubai Solar-Powered Rail Bus System Will Bring Us a Marvel Once Again first appeared on Yanko Design.

Smart sustainable urban highway that runs on 100% renewable energy to open up in Dubai

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Say hello to the world’s smartest running and cycling infrastructure – the Loop. Located in Dubai, the Loop is a 93 km sustainable urban highway designed by URB. Designed to be a zero-emission transport system, it aims to connect more than 3 million residents using a healthy mode of transportation – one that involves walking and cycling. The Loop utilizes kinetic energy to run on 100% renewable energy, and it is also irrigated with 100% recycled water.

Designer: URB

With the Loop, URB plans to change and transform how people get around and commute in Dubai. Since, at the moment, the city is overrun by cars, and hence with the Loop they want to make a smooth and efficient switch to more eco-friendly modes of transportation. The environment of the highway will be controlled all year long, in turn, encouraging walking, running, and cycling among residents of the city. Around 80% 0f residents will be encouraged to cycle and bike within the next few years.

“Dubai is the best place for entrepreneurship in urban mobility. THE LOOP project is an embodiment of that entrepreneurial spirit, which aims to make Dubai the most connected city on earth by foot or bike. In Europe, most people ride bicycles or walk to get to work. In Dubai, our aim is to get more than 80% of people to use a bike on a daily basis,” said URB.

By encouraging people to walk, run or cycle not only does the Loop support eco-friendly modes of commute, but it also boosts and encourages public health. It will nudge people to be more active, and use their feet, and transform Dubai into a “20-minute city”, ensuring that residents are within 20 minutes of major attractions by bicycle or foot. This will encourage people to bypass cars, and instead opt to walk or cycle so they can reach places faster.

The interiors of the smart and sustainable highway are designed to be biophilic – that is it is full of plants, and loads of greenery. It will be a highway-park hybrid that will feature waste recycling stations and kinetic energy tracks that supply power to the smart energy grid.

The post Smart sustainable urban highway that runs on 100% renewable energy to open up in Dubai first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Skyline Chess Set lets you play a game of chess with your favorite city’s iconic buildings!

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Imagine the Harry Potter chess set… but with Muggle Architecture.

With 6 cities to choose from, scattered across North America, Europe, and Asia, the Skyline Chess set makes the game of chess a tad bit grander and classier than you’d expect. The board comes with its patent checkered design, but ditches the conventional army-inspired chess pieces for scaled-down replicas of iconic landmarks like the Burj, Eiffel, London Eye, and the Empire State Building.

Designer: Skyline Chess

Click Here to Buy Now

The chess set converts city skylines into chess players, with entire sets dedicated to the iconic buildings of New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, and Dubai. Skyline Chess Sets let you play either as a singular city (with the board effectively being a visual representation of the city’s map) or battle it out between two cities, finally settling the debate of which one’s better – New York or London!

Each Skyline Chess Set comes in a variety of materials, featuring pieces made from acrylic, stainless steel, or even luxurious bronze, and the boards made out of card, wood, or marble. True-blue architecture enthusiasts can even grab brutalist editions of the game with die-cast resin pieces painted the signature concrete gray!

Combining the age-old popular strategy game with the undying beauty of architecture, the Skyline Chess Set’s appeal lies not just in the gameplay, but also in the fact that it makes a beautiful piece of tabletop decor. While the chess sets only come in 6 cities for now, the folks at Skyline Chess are actively expanding their collections with upcoming editions featuring Tokyo, LA, Hong Kong, and Shanghai!

Click Here to Buy Now

Click Here to Buy Now

The post The Skyline Chess Set lets you play a game of chess with your favorite city’s iconic buildings! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This turbine-shaped skyscraper in Dubai is designed to rotate with the wind!

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Forget rotating restaurants, Turkish architect Hayri Atak’s entire skyscraper is designed to physically rotate with the wind! Designed to adorn the Dubai skyline, the Squall Tower is absolutely hypnotic to look at and may remind a few of Al Pacino’s casino building in Ocean’s Thirteen. It comes with three individual ribbon-shaped segments that helically twist around a central axis, with multiple branches connecting them all together.

The cross-section of each ribbon is designed to be streamlined, allowing it to effectively rotate with minimal drag. The entire building will complete a single rotation once every 48 hours (it isn’t going to spin like a top, obviously) and will do so at a fixed speed, with or without wind. This will give each of its occupants a complete 360° view of Dubai, alternating between ocean and city-facing views. Lastly, a helipad on the top of the building will allow patrons and visitors access from the top while rotating entrances on the base will provide ingress to each of the building’s 3 helical towers. There’s no word on when the construction for the Squall Tower will begin, although the building’s design has been unveiled on Hayri Atak’s website and social media.

Designer: Hayri Atak Architectural Design Studio

IKEA gave Dubai customers discounts based on their Google Maps travel times

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IKEA's sprawling blue and yellow stores are usually located on the outskirts of cities, so for most people a trip to the Swedish furniture kingdom is a big event in itself. To reward its customers for making the trek, the company has now launched an...

Tesla Cybertruck will join Dubai’s eclectic police fleet

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Dubai's police force is well-known for incorporating supercars and other oddities into its fleet, but its latest might be the most eccentric to date. The law enforcement agency has revealed that it'll add Tesla's Cybertruck to its stable -- it claim...

Dubai’s latest skyscraper emerges from its ruler’s fingerprint

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Referred to as the ‘new icon in Dubai’s skyline’, the Burj Jumeira stands at 550m tall and in many ways, is representative of the essence of Dubai. Designed by SOM, Burj Jumeira’s unusual design is inspired by the desert’s shifting, organic sand dunes and oases, and will even feature a digital display on its front facade for cultural events and celebrations, much like the Burj Khalifa.

The building’s alluring, iconic design begins at its oval-shaped base, which features a lake in the shape of the fingerprint of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The mirrored lake will be surrounded by shops, and will be complete with water fountains and a terraced outdoor amphitheater. Housed inside the building will be multiple observation decks that will provide a 360° panoramic view of Dubai, and right on top of the building will be its “Crown”, a luxurious event space that shall also be connected to a sky-lounge and restaurant. “Burj Jumeira is bold, elegant, and dynamic,” said SOM design partner Mustafa Abadan. “It will tower over Jumeirah as the centerpiece of the neighborhood, and will feature a synthesized architectural and structural design.”

Designers: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

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