The world's first vertiport prototype for electrically operated air taxis, designed by Brandlab for Volocopter and Skyports, convinces serval high-ranking jurys.
2020 is the year of awards for the project VoloPort, conceived and designed by the Berlin-based innovation agency Brandlab for Volocopter and Skyports. The vision, concept, design and user experience of the forward-looking urban air mobility infrastructure project convinced the high-profile juries that have honored VoloPort with the German Innovation Award, the iF Design Award, and the Automotive Brand Contest Award.
A flexible landing infrastructure of so-called vertiports is of critical importance for the success of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in general, and particularly for the operation of air taxis in congested cities. With VoloPort, precisely such an infrastructure was created as a worldwide first for Volocopter, , pioneers in the field of electrically operated air taxis, and Skyports, specialist UAM infrastructure providers.
After Brandlab won the international pitch for infrastructure design in collaboration with GRAFT Architects and Arup, the first prototype of a vertiport for eVTOLs, electrically powered air taxis, was presented at the ITS World Congress 2019 in Singapore in autumn 2019. Based on the actual building, processes, interfaces and user scenarios were tested and optimized to prepare the start of a worldwide rollout, directly after receiving the official approvals.
Through an inviting and open architecture with a high degree of transparency and a visual relationship with the aircraft, an environment has been created that rouses anticipation for the upcoming flight, and at the same time, conveys a sense of safety. To meet the requirements of urban locations, a flexible modular concept was developed to allow for variable configurations at different locations.
The team:
Project Lead: Linda Stannieder
Project Management: Felipe Wagner, Maximilian Grieb
Strategy: Alexandra Uzuno?lu, Helene Haas
Branding: Jörg Dengler, David Steingrüber
Architecture: Marvin Bratke, Rangel Karaivanov, Phillip Hohmann, Lucas Confurius, Liljana Nastova
Project Consultants: ARUP (aviation rights, building structure and light consultancy), GRAFT (architecture)
Quotes:
Linda Stannieder, Project Lead Brandlab:
"The teams of Brandlab, Volocopter and Skyports have made history with the VoloPort. The realisation of the world's first vertiport in a megacity describes a first very important step for the future of new inner-city transport systems. With the first prototype, a customer journey was tested for the first time to enable passengers in cities worldwide to fly in air taxis. It is an honor to see the project receiving such prestigious awards."
Prof. Nik Hafermaas, Managing Partner Brandlab:
"Our successful cooperation with Volocopter symbolizes the mission of Brandlab in a special way: we shape the relationship between pioneering technology and humanity".
Florian Reuter, CEO Volocopter:
“Boarding a VoloCity in the VoloPort will be an integral part of the Urban Air Mobility customer experience. As such, a seamless and transparent passenger journey from booking to embarking on the VoloCity is paramount. These awards manifest that beyond our technological leadership, we are also focused on delivering design leadership to offer a state-of-the-art, unforgettable Volocopter brand experience for our customers all over the world.”
Duncan Walker, Managing Director of Skyports:
“Vertiports are a critical enabler of the entire air taxi solution for urban locations. Space is severely limited in busy city centres and vertiport sites come in various shapes and sizes, hence the VoloPort’s award-winning modular design. Applying this flexible approach to our infrastructure solution, we are already working towards the widespread delivery of fully-functional vertiports around the world to support the introduction of commercial air taxi services.”
The awards:
German Innovation Award 2020 Gold title for “transportation” in the “Excellence in Business to Consumer” class
Statement of the jury: “Electrically operated air taxis are considered a very promising solution when it comes to reducing the burden on urban traffic flows. The design of the VoloPort looks futuristically modern, pleasantly open and underscores the progressive aspiration of the topic. At the same time, the design suggests a high degree of quality and security with an exclusive lounge style. The VoloPort is an essential component of the revolutionary air taxi system as a landing, starting, and maintenance station and was designed with impressive form and function.“
Automotive Brand Contest: Best of Best in the Category Architecture & Event
Statement of the jury: “A terminal for a totally new form of transport, the Volocopter, must immediately convey, through its appearance, the innovative nature of this „Flying taxi“: as an example of this, it is a success. The architecture is an integral part of the whole chain of experience – it encapsulates the new brand.”
iF DESIGN Award: Discipline „Architecture“, Category „Public“
