Zaha Hadid Architects in London has announced its future collaboration with Hyperloop Italia to design and develop a planned, near-supersonic transport system in Italy.
The idea of the Hyperloop was proposed by Elon Musk in 2012 after which various companies try their hand at improving the base idea with their innovations. The project is a unification of transformative architecture, engineering and urban planning to improve connectivity and accessibility within the cities while still responding to the need for sustainable innovations. It marks a turning point for the future of transportation; people and cargo, entirely transforming the passenger experience.
The new Italian Hyperloop is essentially a series of low-pressure tubes through which transportation pods are propelled. The hyperloop uses only a fraction of the power used by conventional modes of transport. Air is removed to reduce pressure so that the friction generated between the pods and the tubes is greatly reduced, eliminating resistance and allowing the pods to reach near-supersonic speeds of up to 760 miles per hour. This speed allows people to traverse between large distances in a short period, all the while providing the passengers with the feeling of a smooth, convenient and safe journey.
The climate-controlled capsules or pods travel within sealed tubes, ensuring that the passengers remain unaffected by external conditions.
The hyperloop doesn’t run on rails, instead uses passive magnetic levitation technology-powered entirely by clean renewable energy. The reimagined linear electric motor that uses technology that is powered on renewable energy like solar, wind and geothermal and the integration of regenerative brake systems make the Hyperloop ingenious in its capability of producing more energy than it consumes.
Hyperloop Italia is a revolutionary example of aspiring to be the most accessible, convenient, efficient and most of all, a safe transportation system. It prides itself on its use of the new generation of environment-friendly materials with high recycled content. The use of vibration to monitor speed and capsule integrity sets a new benchmark to passenger safety.
Collaboration Between Hyperloop Italia And Zaha Hadid Architects
Bibop Gresta, the CEO and co-founder of Hyperloop Italia stated that” Zaha Hadid Architects’ decades of global experience in civic and transport infrastructure will be essential to ensure that the transport hubs of the new Italian Hyperloop are intuitive to navigate, sustainable and fully integrated within their urban contexts.”
The principal of Zaha Hadid Architects further agreed that the common multidisciplinary approach combines innovations in design and operational technologies with advances in ecologically sound materials and construction practices. This ensures that Zaha Hadid Architects deliver future-resilient projects that are inventive, structurally sound and environmentally sustainable.
Hyperloop Italia is currently inspecting the feasibility of this transport line on the proposed route between Milan and the Malpensa Airport, reducing travel time by an approximate 33 minutes.
“This agreement marks another step forward for Hyperloop Italia and the development of the fourth industrial revolution,” explained Hyperloop Italia founder and CEO Bibop Gresta, as he speaks about the agreement between Hyperloop Italia and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Hyperloop Network Development Around The World
Hyperloop networks are being explored all around the world, with companies trying their hardest to develop the idea with ingenious breakthroughs of their own. Architecture studio MAD developed a solar-powered system for HyperloopTT and India validated Virgin Hyperloop One’s plans to develop a high-speed transport line between Mumbai and Pune, that is designed to cover 100 miles in 35 minutes.
More recently, two human passengers travelled in a BIG-designed hyperloop vessel across the barren Nevada desert, Las Vegas. After the passengers were safely strapped into the capsule’s seats, the pod was brought in and out of the semi-vacuum environment using an airlock system. The 15-second journey consisted of the XP-2 vehicle being electromagnetically propelled through the entire length of the 500-metre long concrete tube at a speed of just over 100 miles per hour (mph).
The aim is to realise the system to an extent that the pod or capsule can be designed to hold up to 28 passengers and reach up to 760 mph.
The pod was designed with safety and comfort in mind to ease the mind of the passengers travelling at such high speeds. The soft-pill shape pod has circular windows providing the allowance of views into the tunnel and the floor is step to make entrance into and egress from the pod as easy as possible. The pod also provides safety equipment, oxygen tanks and lighting, all of which are cleverly hidden in the extend armrests of the plush seats.
“When designing the future of transportation and the slate is sort of blank, the opportunities are endless,” said BIG’s Jakob Lange. “We’ve needed to adjust our way of thinking away from the classic modes of transportation like trains, planes and metros, and towards a new vehicle typology, closest to that of a spaceship.”
Role Of Zaha Hadid Architects In The “Next Phase Of Works” In The Near-supersonic Transportation System
Zaha Hadid Architects will carry out a station design for Hyperloop Italia, however, the location of this project has not been disclosed. Zaha Hadid Architects will ensure that the design of the hubs of Hyperloop Italia is well integrate into the urban and environmental context.
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