How Technology Is Changing The Way Future-Ready Cities Like Dubai Are Built

The discovery of oil and natural gas changed Dubai forever, propelling the city to the bustling socio-cultural hub it has become today. Contemporary Dubai is synonymous with skyscrapers, scenic beaches, and ease of doing business. But building a city is not easy.

Many contemporary cities of the world are facing a series of issues, both old and new. From classic concerns about sewage management to newer worries of climate changes, city planners are now rewiring their understanding of ways to build holistic cities with help from web 3.0 tools.

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Firms are now using game engines to visualise and measure the impact of development on cities. "Architecture and civil engineering professionals have for decades used Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to produce digital or 3D models of buildings. However, these conventional 3D models have proved to be grossly inadequate to meet the needs of modern and sophisticated construction projects," said Paul Wallett, Regional Director for Trimble Middle-East and India region.

"Thanks to technological advancements, these digital models have since evolved and matured to take the form of digital twins. A digital twin is a highly advanced digital model that is an exact replica of actual, physical building ¨C hence the nomenclature ¡®twin¡¯ ¨C and by its very nature is far more detailed and information rich when compared to a conventional 3D model," Wallett added.

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"Very few cities can match the breakneck pace of urban development that Dubai has witnessed in the last few decades. Trimble and Tekla have been operating in the Middle East for over two decades and Dubai has been the showcase city demonstrating the full impact of our technologies in in the region," said Trimble's Paul Wallett.

Building the cities of future

Another firm called Houseal Lavigne is using game engines to visualise and measure the impact of development on cities through gamification of urban planning. This helps mete out the entire development exercise (down to the last detail) in advance while bringing local governments closer to their climate goals.

"We started to gamify planning and putting our clients and constituents in these virtual places where they can explore a digital twin of their city and see what it might look like with a vision implemented," said Devine Lavigne of Houseal Lavigne. "Behind the beautiful imagery and graphics the game engine provides is the data science through GIS... Everything that we've produced has with them a database that provides information."

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According to Lavigne, a lot can be mapped through visual interactive representation of an urban setting. "If we see a 3D model of a building, we know how many square feet of buildable space is within that building, how many residents will occupy it, and how much power and water they will need, we know what the impact on local schools is going to be."

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"With a skyline dotted with ultramodern skyscrapers, most construction projects in Dubai involve a great deal of complexity. Many leading construction players active in the region have chosen our flagship modeling software Tekla Structures to support handle these specialised and challenging jobs," said Trimble's Paul Wallet.

Urban planning is becoming more tech-centric

Building iconic structures like the Burj Khalifa and Dubai's visionary Museum of the Future is no cakewalk, and a lot of technology goes into building them. "Eversendai, the company behind such iconic structures like the Burj Khalifa, was one of the contractors involved in the construction of the Museum of the Future in Dubai. The calligraphy and the building¡¯s unconventional shape made it one of the most complex construction projects ever attempted," said Trimble's Paul Wallett.

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"The design for this ambitious project included a concrete structure from the basement to the top supporting a steel structure up to Level Seven, with composite concrete floor slabs. This approach allowed a completely column-free interior space, but it also required incorporating several different and uniquely challenging elements within the building's structure. Eversendai oversaw several elements of design, modeling, and fabrication, and used Trimble¡¯s tech solutions to streamline and simplify the entire project¡¯s modeling and execution," Wallett said.

Houseal Lavigne's John Houseal highlighted how urban planning firms began to embrace technology. "We've gone from a profession built on anecdotal decisions to evidence-based decisions and from a fairly unapproachable academic perspective to a very immersive and interactive perspectives. Those are very fundamental shifts."

Unreal engine / Credit: Befores and Afters

Is a perfect city possible?

"Things that work in one city might not work in another," asserted Houseal. Even then, such tech can help with equitable housing, transportation, sustainability, and economy. "These four things with evidence-based models [could drive] dramatic changes in cities going forward," Houseal added.

The Middle East currently stands out in terms of tech-forward thinking - with Dubai at the centre. What's contributing to this much faster adoption in certain regions vs others? "The Middle East is emerging as global leaders for urban laboratories... They have the opportunity to do something on a really grand scale," Houseal said, while highlighting that not all countries have the same opportunity.

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"They really value technology and they're gone all in on the art of the possible [by] pushing and leading the technology solutions approach," he added.

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In fact, Lavigne claimed that many cities in the Middle East like Dubai are ahead of North American ones in terms of "their desire to build this interactive experience."

"Our takeaway from GITEX 2022 in Dubai and work with clients in the Middle East is [that there is] more hunger for technology and a [better] understanding that they can build a smarter and a better city if they embrace this tech," Lavigne added.

There's a difference in approach for this tech-centrism in Dubai. "They're asking for this tech and they want it. What we've found that here in the US [is that] often we have to show these cities how they can benefit from our approach, but cities in the Middle East [like Dubai] already know how they can benefit... In the Middle East, it's like 'we don't care if it's been done before, this is what we want.'"

Trimble's Paul Wallett echoed the same sentiment - "Dubai also offers a great blueprint for developing a modern and sustainable city, particularly in the context of rapid urbanisation and enormous demands on natural resources that it exudes. There will be five billion urbanites by 2050 and we still need to construct adequate buildings and other urban infrastructure for them to live and work in."

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The Dubai Development Authority (DDA) is responsible for regulating, master planning, and construction activities of projects. "Planning and Development encompass a variety of services such as reviews, permits, and inspections to ensure projects follow safety and quality standards and align to codes, guidelines, regulations and best practices," the website states. Everything from design and construction permits are obtained by builders via DDA. To start a business in Dubai, DDA issues licenses on a cluster basis to entrepreneurs based on the nature of their business activities.

What is the potential?

Could a three lane road decongest and improve the flow of traffic instead of a five lane road? Such questions are easier to answer when simulation comes into play. "We're able to show it in the 3D model. It helps bring understanding to the process and to the profession... from the standpoint of science and data," said Lavigne.

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Cities are evolving, but climate is evolving much faster. With concerns like flooding and other extreme climate events in the mix, how can software help? According to Houseal - "It's a gamechanger... To calculate energy consumption per building, what the storm water run off is, what your energy production would be like through solar roofs, the best place to put offshore farms... it's all being used right now."

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Houseal added that with such technology, urban planners are able to see the impact of not only what's being built, but also of what's being removed. "It's really the only way you can understand the ecological impact of what we're trying to accomplish."

"As humanity prepares to undertake this colossal development work, use of cutting-edge tools like digital twins will be vital to ensuring a harmonious and sustainable way of life for present and future urbanites," noted Paul Wallett.

"The use of digital twins can dramatically reduce the financial and environmental cost of new construction, reduce carbon emissions, and prevent expensive adjustments once a project is finished. As countries around the world work to mitigate the effects of climate change, digital twins will also allow existing cities to better utilise their existing infrastructure and simultaneously provide a much better quality of life to the citizens," he added.

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