March 2, 2022

Ramboll becomes partner in smart city technology platform

Ramboll partners with 3D digital planning and design platform VU.CITY to help shape resilient and liveable cities around the world.

The global population and cities are growing at a faster rate than ever before. By 2050 the world will need to have built as many buildings as have been built to date. The growth of our urban environments must however be more liveable, more resilient, and more sustainable.
Ramboll COO Michael Simmelsgaard says “The world needs to accelerate its transition to a sustainable future. We have set a bold ambition in our new strategy to commit all our global expertise to sustainable change. City-wide digital twin technologies are a crucial tool to support the development of sustainable, resilient and liveable cities and we are delighted to partner with VU.CITY who are a pioneer in this field.”
Developing the best possible cities of the future means making the right decisions today. VU.CITY’s digital twins bring incredible transparency to inform crucial decision making. At the heart of the VU.CITY platform are some of the most accurate, widescale, 3D digital models of cities in the world. This enables architects, developers, planners and municipalities to visualise, organise and analyse data to make complex planning considerations more transparent and easier to understand.
VU.CITY has over twenty cities modelled on its platform. For instance, it has the whole of London modelled to a 15cm accuracy, with 90% of the city’s municipalities utilising the platform.
See VU.CITY fly through video of London
Ramboll’s multi-million Euro investment into VU.CITY enables the next phase of development, scaling the platform into new markets, geographies and industries.
Jamie Holmes, VU.CITY CEO adds “Accessing Ramboll’s knowledge as designers, engineers, architects and consultants working in cities all over the world will be of huge benefit to VU.CITY. We are also delighted to bring Ramboll’s own generative design real estate platform SiteSolve into the VU.CITY marketplace, an indication of the great synergies in our partnership.”
Michael Simmelsgaard concludes “Strong collaboration and co-creation across our industry is critical to developing and scaling innovative solutions that drive sustainable change. Tech-enabled consulting and joint technology platforms drive more informed decision making, accelerate productivity, bring greater value for clients and better outcomes for society. We are therefore excited to invest and join forces with VU.CITY and their existing shareholders to rapidly bring this pioneering property technology to more clients around the world.”
About VU.CITY
VU.CITY is transforming cities through greater understanding, collaboration and trust to help you turn possibilities into realities. Test ideas instantly and visualise schemes in accurate, up-to-date context, with functionality and data that help make better decisions, faster. VU.CITY means that architects, developers, planning consultants and local authorities share a clear path in mapping out a city’s future. Now everyone can work together to deliver the best possible city for all. Click here for more on VU.CITY and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Ramboll joins existing shareholder Grosvenor Hill Ventures, which is the technology investment subsidiary of global real estate advisory firm Savills, and GIA Surveyors to support VU.CITY’s journey to become a global cross-market platform.