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future of regenerative cities

HACKMASTERS’ decade of experience in building propositions for cities, built environment, real estate and governments. Here are some of our insights and challenges tackled, through our unique Future Hack methodology.

  • DUBAI

    HOW DO YOU BUILD A RE-GENERATIVE CITY BY FOCUSING ON ECOLOGY, ECONOMY AND EMPATHY?

  • LONDON

    TIDEWAY. HOW TO BUILD SAFETY + SUSTAINABILITY IN EUROPE’S BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT?

  • BERLIN

    HOW DO YOU OPTIMISE HOUSING UTILISATION?

  • MILAN

    WHAT DOES A SMART CITY TECHNOLOGY STACK LOOK LIKE?

  • EDINBURGH

    HOW DO YOU ‘FUTURE PROOF’ A BILLION POUND INVESTMENT IN A NEW DISTRICT?

  • STOCKHOLM

    HOW TO BUILD A NEW CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN AN OLD DISTRICT?

  • PALO ALTO

    HOW DO YOU OPEN UP CITY DATA TO OPTIMISE MOBILITY?

  • DUBAI

    DUBAI AIRPORTS & SELF ASSEMBLY ARCHITECTURE. HOW TO CREATE BUILDINGS THAT BUILD THEMSELVES?

  • LONDON

    HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT USE AI TO AID POLICY MAKING REGARDING IMMIGRANTS?

  • NEOM

    HOW TO MAKE NEOM A HUB FOR GAME DESIGNERS?

  • MUSCAT

    HOW DOES MUSCAT BECOME A HUB FOR FUTURE INDUSTRIES?

  • DUBAI

    HOW DO YOU BUILD A HAPPY AND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE FOR VISITORS?

  • VILNIUS

    HOW DO YOU PLAN A 10 YEAR ENERGY RESILIENCE STRATEGY?

  • MISK

    HOW DO YOU BUILD A KNOWLEDGE CITY FOR NEXT GENERATION LEADERS?

Queen Mary University of London logo featuring a crown above the text
Logo with the text 'ISM' on the left and 'Executive School' on the right, in white letters on a black background.

What do people want from a city?

In collaboration with Queen Mary University of London and ISM Business School, HACKMASTERS research on smart cities found three core citizen needs: Belonging, Opportunity and Wellbeing.

Group of people with hands stacked together over a person in the center.

PEOPLE LIVING THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES

BELONGING

Desirable, authentic, social and shareable cultural capital.

WELLBEING

Cities as platforms and environment for wellbeing.

OPPORTUNITY

An eco-system of future industries, economies, ecology and education.

Logo for Hackmasters Future Hack with connected nodes and lines design
Hackmasters Culture Hack logo with interconnected nodes and lines design in orange, featuring bold orange and white text on a black background.
Aerial view of a densely packed cityscape with numerous high-rise skyscrapers and a network of roads and highways, black and white
Aerial view of skyscrapers, highways, and a waterway in a modern city with boats docked at marina.

dubai

Logo of the United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy & Remote Work Applications Office.

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UAE MINISTER FOR AI WE RAN A GROUND BREAKING BUSINESS MODEL SHAKING FUTURE HACK ON REGENERATIVE CITIES AT GITEX GLOBAL

A stylized line drawing of a tent with a mountain peak in the background, represented with simple geometric shapes and lines.

GLOBAL DEVSLAM

master question

How can we re-imagine new models for re-generation especially in already established cities such as Dubai?

The battle for sustainability will be won or lost in cities. Regenerative cities go beyond sustainability and into new models for the economy, ecology, and cultural empathy of their societies.

HOW TO BUILD A COMMUNITY OWNED AND MONETISED ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE?

Logo for Solar Connect featuring a solar panel, hands, and sun rays with the tagline 'Uniting communities to harness the sun and preserve our planet'.

HOW TO BUILD AN ECOLOGICALLY EFFICIENT MODEL FOR ENERGY SAVINGS?

Illustration of planet Earth with clouds, surrounded by green and blue abstract shapes, and text promoting eco-friendly city initiatives.

HOW TO BUILD ENVIRONMENTALLY ADAPTIVE ARCHITECTURE EMPATHETIC TO INHABITANTS HEALTH?

Text-based image with black background and white text about ecology, retrofitting preexisting structures to improve air quality in cities.
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Group of people at an award ceremony at a technology conference, holding large checks and posing for a photo, with some sitting and others standing.
Black and white logo with the letters 'cac' inside a shield-shaped outline, resembling a certification or organizational emblem.

“HACKMASTERS’ real specialty is bringing smart people together to solve real problems, things that really matter. That’s what HACKMASTERS do.”

JAKOB WIDERBERG - GAC GROUP

Aerial night view of London's city skyline, featuring the Shard skyscraper and Tower Bridge over the River Thames with illuminated buildings and streets.
Aerial night view of London featuring Tower Bridge illuminated over the River Thames, The Shard skyscraper, and surrounding cityscape with lit buildings and streets.

london

Aerial view of the Apple Park circular campus in California, with surrounding greenery and roads.
Aerial view of a large, circular building under construction surrounded by greenery and urban landscape.

palo alto

A nighttime black and white photo of Berlin's Berliner Dom cathedral with the Fernsehturm TV tower in the background, reflected in the river with light streaks from passing boats.
Nighttime cityscape featuring the Berlin Cathedral with its illuminated dome, and the Berlin TV Tower in the background, with reflections on the water below.

berlin

Icon of a futuristic vehicle with wheels and an antenna, with the text "Future of Mobility" underneath, on a black background.

IN SMART CITIES

master question

How do we build the future of mobility in smart cities?

In partnership with EY and leading car manufacturers, we have crafted a collaborative vision for the future of mobility. This vision centres on the pivotal role of data as the intersection where cities, citizens, and vehicles converge, fostering new experiences and opportunities.

HOW CAN EMBED-ABLE NAVIGATION ENABLE INSTINCTIVE SERENDIPITY?

HOW DRAMATICALLY WILL THE IN-CAR EXPERIENCE TRANSFORM IN THE FUTURE?

HOW WILL DATA PLATFORMS FUEL SMART MOBILITY?

We generated multiple Transformational Scenarios, Opportunity Spaces and Innovative Propositions for the car industry, as well as the future capabilities, strategies and approaches they should embrace. 

Page from a magazine or report titled 'OEMs & Markets' with the headline 'Different voices, same future: hackathon targets varied thought leaders' by Megan Lampinen. The article discusses automotive industry changes, hackathon events in Palo Alto, Berlin, and London, and insights from Saher Sidhom, founder of Hackmasters London. A photo shows Saher Sidhom speaking at the event, with a woman and two men listening, seated at a table with papers and a coffee cup.
Black and white photo of Edinburgh cityscape featuring historic buildings, a clock tower, and the Edinburgh Castle on a hilltop in the background.
Panoramic view of Edinburgh city skyline during sunset with historic buildings, a clock tower, and a castle on a hill, surrounded by lush green trees.

edinburgh

Logo with interconnected triangles and circles, with the text 'FUTURE OF REAL ESTATE' beneath.

master question

How to future proof a billion pound investment?

HACKMASTERS worked for 2 years with Nuveen Real Estate to build a future proof strategy, by designing the future mapping the future capability and evaluating the future value scenarios propositions and innovations.

Black and white aerial view of a dense cityscape with skyscrapers, bridges, and waterways.
An aerial view of downtown Dubai, showing skyscrapers, a marina with boats, and a network of roads.

dubai

Logo featuring city skyline inside a geometric triangle with the text 'Future of Regenerative Cities' below.

master question

HOW DO WE re-imagine airports to deal with exponential demand? 

Working for Dubai Airport on their 10X programme, we’ve developed a number of future propositions that will enable DXB to be the airport of the future. 

DXMorph

SELF ASSEMBLY ARCHITECTURE

What if DXB could be a modular airport with optimisable and morphable infrastructure, assets and spaces?

Research

concept

prototype

we create environments that morph to needs

There exists a fundamental limiting-assumption that infrastructure, assets and space has to be fixed.

Building on research conducted by MIT, we’ve taken the concept of self-assembly architecture and developed concepts and prototypes for how morphology and modularity could be applied in the airport environment.

BUT IS THIS TRULY SET IN STONE?

AIR ENERGY

LITERALLY.

A number of futuristic yet feasible solutions were identified; including using the downward thrust of the planes (wake turbulence) when they are landing and taking off to power sub-surface turbines and to use the weight and the pressure of the planes to generate electricity. 

A graph with a blue background showing the relationship between energy, risk, and various technologies. The vertical axis is labeled 'Energy' from low to high, and the horizontal axis is labeled 'Risk' from low to high. A highlighted section in black lists technologies like MagLev take-off and landing, airfield heat energy harvesting, wireless energy transfer, harnessing wake turbulence, and airfield fume recombustion.
A large digital display on a glass wall showing data about energy usage, recent partners, top consumption breakdowns, and success stories for Air INC, with a cityscape visible through the glass behind.

Dubai Airport’s biggest bill is its energy bill. We did a transformational technology assessment and futures connecting to understand the potential of applying a number of technologies to reduce, optimise and generate energy at Dubai airport in an environmentally sustainable way.

We worked with Dubai Customs to bring together 500+ members from their management for a 5 day Culture Hack.

The absolute focus was on developing their innovation strategy roadmaps and preparing them for implementation. This was to deliver and “organisation wide” approach to executing innovation in all departments.

Over 30 teams from different departments participated and collaborated to create their own roadmaps for success.

More than 50% of the proposed reformation plans received funding for immediate implementation once the event was over.

Dubai Customs ended up winning several International Innovation awards as a result of this program.

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