TRANSPORTATION REVOLUTION
04 Nov 2019
Rethinking the future of public transport, MAD Architects has revealed its plan for the HyperloopTT System, a sustainable, pylon-elevated rapid transport system built for hyper-speed travel that also promotes urban farming and public greenspace initiatives.
The pylon transportation system has been designed to enhance the connection between cities and people, establishing this through car-free raised green walkways along the roof of the tunnels and aiming to activate spaces below as park and recreation spaces.
The elevated transportation system is a low-pressure, high-speed sustainable tube-based transportation system that aims to connect people and places that are far apart with hyper speeds.
MAD’s design seeks to demonstrate how man-made structures can merge with nature through new urban infrastructure. “While providing enhanced connectivity between cities and people, the transportation system will also establish a renewed connection between people and their city through car-free raised green walkways along the roof of the tunnels, and activation spaces below in the form of parks and recreation areas,” said the MAD design team.
HyperloopTT is active in developing solutions for major urban issues such as overcrowding, traffic congestion and pollution and is one of many companies who are seeking to develop a transportation system based on the Hyperloop concept, which was conceived and open-sourced by Elon Musk in 2013. The system features high-speed travel through a tube without air resistance or friction.
The firm commissioned MAD Architects to conceive a versatile pylon design that could act as structural support for a high-speed transportation system. The pylon needed to be able to easily integrate into a range of diverse environments – from bustling urban cities to rural farmlands to remote deserts.
MAD conceived the HyperloopTT System, a scheme that harnesses solar and wind energy in order to operate. The transportation tunnels are outfitted with bendable solar panel skin modules that power the system, alongside LEDs along the surface that act as interactive information boards.
Bladeless wind turbine forests that will be positioned at various sectors of the system will harness wind power as the main source of energy for the network.
The pylon design minimises the system’s physical footprint by lifting its functions almost seven metres above the ground. This design decision was made to eliminate the possibility of collision with road traffic and decreases the cost of land acquisition.
The system is composed of a single-mould fibreglass structure and, in order to emphasise further sustainability, the base of each pylon has been conceived to host crop-growing facilities that encourage urban farming. The energy sourced from the LEDs allows the plants to be self-sustainable.
HyperloopTT is currently in the process of developing a full-scale passenger system that will undergo human trials in 2020.
All images courtesy of MAD Architects