.png){kind=small}
portal
hyperloop portal
university of wisconsin - milwaukee
spring 2017
re-work 2019
Portal is a multi-use transportation hub that makes Chicago a revolutionary city of the future and a major hub of the American Midwest. My design of Portal is underscored by research I did for Badgerloop, an award-winning student team working on hyperloop pod designs.
Hyperloop is a new form of transportation that is under development by multiple teams. It’s similar to a train in its point-to-point connection and utilizes a rail. It uses a vacuumed tube to reduce air friction, and once at speed, uses little energy to keep it at speed. It’s projected to reach speeds up to 800mph(1,290kmh), and possibly up to 4,000mph(6,440kmh) as the technology matures.
Hyperloop can significantly change societies and revolutionize travel. The system will create regional, national, and international connections allowing citizens to build more extensive personal networks of cities on moving between living, work, leisure, and everything in between.
Portal utilizes a tension and compression ring structural system to achieve a floating roof. This system allows for unobstructed views throughout the entire transportation hub, celebrating the hyperloop and setting a precedent for the next generation of travel.
The roof structure appears as if the force of the hyperloop is pulling it downwards, creating an awe-inspiring oculous in the center of the transportation hub. Layering is the universal design element for portal. It’s apparent in its second skin and circulation, which also doubles as the organization of the lower levels, where the hyperloop loads and unloads.
