TODAY Melbourne, the Australian city won a global competition to host the first international base for Uber flying cars. And Uber’s architecture and engineering partners have unveiled some really breathtaking skyport designs. To be clear, Skyports are the areas where people will be able to board and disembark from Uber Air vehicles.
At Uber Elevate today, eight firms unveiled 16 new designs for Skyports. Below, you’ll find the top concept from each firm. You may be wondering where you’ll find these skyports. Well, Uber envisions working with real estate developers and cities to install skyports on top of parking garages and other underutilized structures.
“With the first launch of Uber Air just a few short years away, this collection of Skyport Mobility Hub concepts establish a practical, sustainable vision for the infrastructure needed in the communities we plan to serve,” Uber Elevate Head of Design for Elevate John Badalamenti said in a statement.
“These designs represent a synergy of purpose, orchestrating a seamless transition between ground transit like Uber Pool and eVTOL aircraft on the roof tarmac – all while contributing to the surrounding neighborhood. “Architectural minds carry the responsibility to imagine the world in a way that does not exist yet and make it a reality. So this year, we invited innovative architectural firms to imagine how connected Skyport hubs could be integrated into the urban landscape of Los Angeles, Dallas and Melbourne.”
Called the “Sky Loft,” this 3,700 square meter skyport features a landing pad, lounge, parking areas for JUMP bikes and scooters, and retail. It’s designed with Melbourne, Australia in mind.
“While delivering an elegant and high-performance building, our design for the Sky Loft creates a compelling and seamless user experience,” Pickard Chilton Principal Jon Pickard said in a statement. “The designs are sensitive to and respectful of their context while the Sky Lofts themselves are stewards of earth’s limited resources. It has been exciting to collaborate with Uber and Arup to create the Sky Loft – a realistic vision for intra-urban transportation in Melbourne.”
This concept, designed by Corgan for Dallas, Texas, incorporates restaurants, grocery stores, sports courts and coworking spaces. The design also takes into account room for bike- and scooter-share services.
“In prioritizing feasibility, Corgan saw that mass adoption of this emerging modality would require evolving traditional notions of connectivity,” Corgan Principal John Trupiano said in a statement. “A scalable design that seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure and considers its environmental impact, our design is comprised of a kit of parts that can be customized for a variety of budgets and locations—adding popular amenities and creating a lifestyle of aerial mobility and connectivity.”
In Los Angeles, firm Mithun envisions turntable parking, and spaces for bikes and scooters. The “SkyPark” sees itself as being more community-oriented with more than two acres of public park space.
“Uber SkyPark elevates the urban transportation experience, enriching lives at the personal, neighborhood and community scales,” Mithun Partner Jason Steiner said in a statement. “By raising eVTOL functions, the Greenlight Hub, eBike and eScooter maintenance and charging spaces above grade, a new urban park with restorative landscape and active street life is created at the ground level. The park and its trees absorb noise, filter pollution and mitigate urban heat island effect while providing vibrant recreation and social spaces for the community.”
Humphreys & Partners Architects envisions a Dallas-based skyport that looks like it’s expended in the air. It’s designed to support eVTOLs, micromobility and retail operations with more than 9,500 square feet.
“Our approach in designing an on-demand aerial ridesharing terminal is based on the idea that ‘less is more,’” Humphrey & Partners CIO Walter Hughes said in a statement. “This idea has motivated us to create a highly intuitive experience for passengers, integrated within a structure that is simple to build and operate while reinforcing Uber’s brand identity. Volary is inclusive of new technologies and made of natural, organic materials for a highly sustainable building resulting in a zero net energy footprint.”
Housed on top of an existing seven-story parking lot, this skyport is focused on the basics: the takeoff, the landing as well as space for bikes, scooters and electric vehicles.
“As a design-build firm that is beginning to fabricate building components at Factory Blue, we are uniquely positioned to solve the challenging question of how you add on to an existing parking structure,” The Beck Group Associate Principal Timothy Shippey said in a statement. “The design and fabrication of modular elements in our Dallas Skyport deliver a concept that aligns with Uber’s innovative vision and is within budget.”
Looking to connect all of Uber’s vehicles, this concept provides space for eVTOLs, bikes and scooters.
“The Uber Skyport Mobility Hub as imagined by BOKA Powell Architects celebrates our evolving experience-driven society by designing fluidity and transparency into the process of air travel re-imagined,” BOKA Powell Principal-in-Charge R. Andrew Bennett said in a statement. “The integration of all Uber brands substantiates first and last mile travel as major support elements to the Uber Air component that revolutionizes urban mobility. The Mobility Hub is not a thing, but rather a place of dynamic energy and integrated connectivity that celebrates the spirit of flight and the freedom to quickly access the important places in one’s life.”
