News

Abu Dhabi-Backed Tech Sculpture To Be Installed In Houston

Created for the LAGI 2019 design competition in Abu Dhabi, the high-tech installation will double as a renewable power plant.

Published

3 years ago

July 31, 2023

Nour Nasir

abu dhabi-backed tech sculpture to be installed in houston

LAGI

“The world’s largest sundial”, designed by Berlin architect Riccardo Mariano, is set to be installed in the city of Houston, Texas, in the city’s East End neighborhood in 2024.

The project was made possible by the Land Art Generator Initiative partnership with Masdar City, an Abu Dhabi urban development dedicated to creating sustainable cities and lifestyles. For those unaware, Houston, Texas, is twinned with the capital of the United Arab Emirates, hence the connection.

the arco del tiempo houston 1

The 30-meter-tall sundial will be known as the Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time) and functions as an interactive clock, casting sunlight onto the surface of Guadalupe Plaza Park. The installation’s geometry, carefully designed according to Houston’s latitude and longitude, is accurate throughout the seasons and hours of the day.

the arco del tiempo houston 2

However, the Arco del Tiempo is far more than just a sculpture. The project will also serve as a renewable energy power generation plant. The finished arch will incorporate solar modules on its south-facing side, generating around 400 megawatt-hours of electricity annually — the equivalent energy consumption of 40 local homes.

Also Read: Kuwait Bans Cryptocurrencies, Putting An End To Virtual Assets

“It was a pleasure to be part of the LAGI competition in 2019, and we’re very excited to see the winning entry come to life—particularly in Abu Dhabi’s sister city,” said Chris Wan, Associate Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility at Masdar City. “We know that public art plays a significant role in the fabric of a city, and Arco del Tiempo is so much more than public art: it will also educate the public about sustainability while celebrating and advocating for it. It’s a powerful combination. I hope to see more art like it in the cities of the future”.

Over its lifetime, the Arco del Tiempo is projected to generate over 12 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy, effectively removing 8,500 metric tons of CO2.

News

Trip.com Is Betting An AI Agent Will Book Your Next Vacation

Abu Dhabi, Jazeera Airways and a run of hotel deals give the company more inventory. Its Mastercard demo says the most about where booking technology is headed.

Published

2 days ago

September 16, 2026

Nour Nasir

trip.com is betting an ai agent will book your next vacation

Most of what Trip.com Group announced at Arabian Travel Market 2026 this week reads like the standard expansion playbook of an online travel agency: a new agreement with a tourism board, a run of hotel partnerships, an airline deal. However, one item was considerably more interesting: a demonstration built with Mastercard of an AI agent that doesn’t just suggest trips but also pays for them.

trip.com tripgenie ai agent

The showcase put TripGenie, the company’s AI travel assistant, to work searching, selecting and completing purchases inside a single booking flow, with Mastercard’s Agent Suite for Merchants handling the payment step and Network International processing the transactions on the merchant side. It’s limited for now to attractions and ancillary services, but the partners plan a phased commercial rollout from early 2027.

“As traveller expectations change, technology and AI will play an increasingly important role in how people plan their journeys,” says Schubert Lou, CEO of Trip.com.

Meanwhile, in more conventional news, CEO Lou and Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry (Director General for Tourism at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi), signed an agreement building on the two organizations’ existing partnership, with joint marketing and Abu Dhabi destination content to be pushed across Trip.com Group’s platforms.

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On accommodation, the group expanded its partnerships with JA Hotels & Resorts, Ishraq Hospitality and Aleph Hospitality and deepened its work with Silkhaus, which brings vacation homes into a portfolio that has so far leaned on hotels. Jazeera Airways signed a strategic partnership intended to widen the Kuwaiti carrier’s reach and encourage earlier bookings, tied to Kuwait’s own tourism ambitions.

The company moved into a larger Dubai office earlier this year and describes its long-term aim as a two-way ecosystem: sending Middle East travelers abroad while drawing international visitors in.