Western Harbour Tunnel, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Aurecon is transforming Sydney Harbour, replacing dredging with TBM tunnel engineering to deliver a faster, safer and more sustainable second harbour crossing.
Change your location to view content tailored for you.
Just as Hollywood relies on digital design to create unimaginable worlds, Aurecon and Gensler Architects drew upon digital engineering tools to create a theme park that wows visitors and excites imaginations. MOTIONGATE™ Dubai is the region’s largest Hollywood-inspired theme park that enamours, inspires and entertains visitors.
Aurecon was responsible for all engineering services: civil, mechanical, electrical, structural and facade, as well as plumbing, fire protection and detection, and information and communication technologies (ICT).
When the project team set out to bring MOTIONGATE™ Dubai to life, it knew the design challenges would be complex and diverse. Taking the creative imagination of a Hollywood motion picture and converting this into an immersive experience was always going to be exciting and different.
Inspired by 13 Hollywood films from DreamWorks Animation, Columbia Pictures Studios and Lionsgate, such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Ghostbusters, the Smurfs and The Hunger Games, MOTIONGATE™ Dubai also features a full programme of live entertainment including live stage shows and character meet and greets.
Aurecon determined that for this project to be a success, multidisciplinary skills from around the globe were required. Engineering specialists from Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City contributed to the design effort. Their willingness to learn, share knowledge and grow contributed to the outcome – an entertainment destination that brings movie storytelling to life.
One aspect of a theme park quite different to other development projects is the myriad of stakeholders involved. The role of an engineer in this setting is to consider the disparate views of stakeholders when designing the structures, facades and building services.
We realised that by designing most buildings with long span trusses – creating open, column-free internal spaces – the interiors provided flexibility for the set designers and artists to create the guest attractions within. It also means that in the future, open spaces provide greater flexibility to reconfigure internal layouts.
One challenge was to position the building services such as communications, plumbing, electrical and mechanical, in the spaces not otherwise used. One instance was fitting services into the roof of the mushroom-shaped houses that represent the Smurfs movies, therefore allowing the main house to be used for visitor experiences.
On MOTIONGATE™ Dubai, architects received hand-drawn sketches from the set designers and artists to indicate how each building was to look and function.
Aurecon recognised that designs would need to be fully engineered digitally to allow the buildings and open spaces to be designed effectively. The initial project set-up for a large-scale, digitally engineered project like this one, must be planned and coordinated effectively. Aurecon conducted regular digital engineering coordination meetings with key stakeholders across multiple time zones.
The 3D models commenced with the structural foundations, then continued in digital with the structures, services, open spaces and civil infrastructure added.
This process was extremely beneficial when engineering the unique curves and corners for some of the more complex buildings, for instance, mushroom-shaped roofs and a giant ice-cream attached to one of the cafes. Digital engineering allowed the team to consider and model different material and design options before the final shape was decided.
Coordination of all the different building systems and structural elements was a significant task, however, by combining several digital engineering tools, it was made easier. They outputted robust construction schedule guidelines and determined potential clashes between infrastructure in a digital setting so that designs could be adjusted well before construction commenced.
MOTIONGATE™ Dubai is a highly complex theme park, with many bespoke buildings and designs.
To maintain effective communication with the client, and designers and architect across the globe, Aurecon introduced virtual desktop infrastructure, platform technology that houses documents on a virtual machine running on a centralised server.
The international design team worked on the same 3D models in real time, which was a key contributing factor to ensuring that designs met the client’s requirements.
More than 250 designers and architects transferred information and updated models simultaneously, speeding up the design process. In addition, 3D modelling enabled the client to better understand the cost implications of the project as different design were accurately and efficiently modelled digitally before an investment decision was made.
When construction on MOTIONGATE™ Dubai commenced, the use of drones to gather project site data and capture construction progress was not commonplace in the Middle East. However, just as the roller-coasters take guests high above the theme park, monthly drone flights were conducted over the site.
These provided visibility of construction works for the client, together with assisting with communication to designers and stakeholders dispersed across the globe.
Visitors to MOTIONGATE™ Dubai can immerse themselves in cinematic adventure with 27 rides and attractions, including 5 roller coasters, multi-media dark rides, interactive play labs and 3D media-based theatre shows.
This truly creative project is one of the most exciting entertainment theme parks in the world. Guests experience all the thrills, dreams, fantasies and excitement that a world-class, magical theme park has to offer.
The project is the winner of multiple industry awards:
Aurecon is transforming Sydney Harbour, replacing dredging with TBM tunnel engineering to deliver a faster, safer and more sustainable second harbour crossing.
Auckland’s first underground railway system will reduce congestion, bring people closer to job and amenities, and unlock new development potential.
Aurecon's active transport design expertise supports TfNSW to create a seamless, unobtrusive, step-free ramp and cycleway across Sydney Harbour Bridge.
