With AIRNOVA©, Aqprim invents the building with vertiport

The Bordeaux-based real estate developer, known for launching innovative concepts such as ©Moove, ©Modu'Lab and ©Vill'Appart, has just taken a new step forward with the invention of a concept combining office or residential buildings with a vertiport capable of receiving air cabs and drones for freight.

The developer Aqprim files a patent for urban air mobility

We know AqprimAqprim is a real estate development company based in Bordeaux, founded in 2011 by Laurent Mathiolon, which has been creating innovative concepts such as housing that can be upgraded without administrative authorization with Moove (which has resulted in the construction of 300 units since 2014), or housing adapted to blended families with Modu'Lab.

Aqprim, which generates 70% of its turnover in Bordeaux with approximately 200 homes per year, has just taken a new step by filing a patent that could be described as decisive in the coming revolution, that of urban air mobility , which will become a reality in a few years.

With Airnovawhich was patented in April 2020, the developer is proposing to build 30 to 50 meter high buildings for housing or offices to accommodate a platform designed to receive air cabs and delivery drones in the very near future.

"Laurent Mathiolon, President and founder of Aqprim

Since January 2021, several European countries have been testing the possibility of urban air mobility on a large scale. All that was missing was the creation of a "service station", the missing piece of this great puzzle that will take shape by 2023-2024. 

Strategic buildings for metropolises

To allow landings and take-offs of small drones for commercial cargo (small packages for individuals, craftsmen or traders) as well as for air cabs, Aqprim has imagined a building that is both classic and particular.

Classic, because based on its experience as a developer, Aqprim proposes a traditional, high-rise office or residential building. Special, because the top of the building is specific and particularly secure, with a roof top , equipped with a capacity to quickly recharge aircraft or drones. Special because below is a buffer or storage area and the next level down is offered a waiting lounge.

To link the floor of the building to its top, an elevator for passengers and a concierge machine to manage the flow of packages.

Two steps remain to be taken to turn the vertiport into a reality. The first step depends on the local authorities, which must take the measure of the challenge by modifying their PLU: "The local authorities must identify and reserve strategic points on their territory (near a station or an airport)," explains Laurent Mathiolon. We can imagine a maximum of 5 to 10 sites in a metropolis. It's a long-term vision that must be implemented now.

The second stage, which follows in parallel with the first, is the preparation of a preliminary project outline (or APS). The ambition is to create a consortium with partners to " support the investment and operation over 30 years of the future platforms based on a new economic model".  

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