The annual Build Earth Live ideas competition – which challenges teams to create a design in just 48 hours – will return in September with entrants tasked to imagine a Hyperloop network for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dubai’s Future Foundation and Road & Transport Authority will provide government sponsorship for the competition, which will call on designers, architects and engineers to plan the station terminuses for a Hyperloop route between Dubai and the emirate Fujairah. They will have between midday 26 September GST and midday 28 September GST to enter their attempt.

The Hyperloop is a tube-based transport system in which pressurised capsules travel on an air cushion, driven by linear induction motors and air compressors, at speeds of up to 760mph (1,200 km/h). The concept was proposed by Canadian-American entrepreneur and engineer Elon Musk in 2013, firing the starting gun on a technological race to realise the concept.

Hyperloop One is one of the companies investing in the idea. It will sponsor the Build Earth Live contest, months after partnering with Arup, AECOM and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design Hyperloop stations, tracks and infrastructure. Their main goal is to “create a fifth mode of transport that will connect distant cities to form dynamic and efficient economic super-regions” – a vision which has major connotations for the leisure industry.

Prior to the competition, organisers will release a high-level design brief to all potential participants. Teams will be allowed to use interoperable technology and to share their work with the public on collaborative websites.

The UAE plans to build its own Hyperloop as soon as the technology becomes a reality. The winner of this competition could inspire the final design used.

“This competition will bring together some of the best and brightest architectural, engineering and technological minds to design the world’s first Hyperloop infrastructure for the UAE,” said Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop One. “We’re committed to making Hyperloop a commercial reality for freight and passenger transportation in the near future, and this collaborative competition is a great start.”

The Build Earth Live competition series was founded by software firm Asite to showcase how new cloud-based technology and building Information modelling software is revolutionising construction.

The 48 hour time limit is set to add an extra level of challenge to the tasks set, while also allowing collaborators from around the world both during and after working hours.

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