AAM in Canada: How Figurr & Aureum Are Shaping Aviation
4 hours ago
4 min read
Canada covers a vast area, with coastlines, cities, and hundreds of remote and Indigenous communities spread across almost ten million square kilometres. Many of these places depend on planes and helicopters for groceries, medicine, and medical visits. Soon, new autonomous vehicles and drone-based aircraft will help connect these communities. But for them to work, they need places to land.
Vertiport Take-off and Landing View. Photo credit: Figurr Architects Collective
Figurr Architects Collective and Aureum Mobility want to solve this problem. Figurr is an architecture firm from Montreal, and Aureum specializes in vertiport and drone infrastructure. Together, they are designing and building landing sites, charging stations, and passenger hubs that Advanced Air Mobility will need across Canada.
“Advanced Air Mobility will prove its value not where transportation options are already abundant, but where they are needed most. Canada’s vast distances, remote and underserved communities, and willingness to lead make it a defining test of whether this industry can serve everyone - not only a select few. Figurr brings the aviation experience and shared conviction needed to turn that promise into practical, accessible, and affordable infrastructure, community by community.” - Anthony Colletti, AAM Specialist, Aureum Mobility
Exterior View at Night. Photo credit: Figurr Architects Collective
Some people may see a vertiport as just a fancy helipad, but that's not the case. A vertiport has to manage aircraft movement, passenger flow, battery charging, maintenance, and links to roads, transit, or nearby airports. All these things need to happen at once, and safety is key.
This complexity is why the partnership exists. Aircraft makers have spent years working on how their vehicles will fly, but there has been less focus on where they will take off, land, and recharge. These useful details might not seem exciting, but they are important.
“Canada’s Advanced Air Mobility future depends on turning bold innovation into safe, inclusive, and operationally ready infrastructure. This partnership between Figurr and Aureum Mobility brings together the design expertise and technology leadership needed to help Canadian communities, airports, and industry prepare for the next era of aviation. At CAAM, we are eager to see the expertise of Figurr and Aureum help expedite solving the infrastructure challenges that we are facing en route to commercial operations in Canada.” - JR Hammond, Executive Director, Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM)
Many people think Advanced Air Mobility is mainly for busy cities, helping people avoid traffic with flying taxis. But Aureum and Figurr believe this technology will matter most in places with few transportation options. Colletti, an AAM specialist at Aureum Mobility, says the industry will show its value "where they are needed most"—in Canada's remote and underserved communities—rather than in places that already have many transportation options. Considering the country's size and the many fly-in-only settlements, this is a significant market. In fact, it may be the main reason for the technology.
Exterior View in Daytime. Photo credit: Figurr Architects Collective Vertiport Front Entrance. Photo credit: Figurr Architects Collective
Figurr has decades of experience in aviation design, having worked with airlines, airports, simulator manufacturers, and defence clients worldwide. Keith Johnson, an Architect, Associate, and AAM Specialist at the firm, describes the partnership as combining "world-class vertiport technology" with architectural expertise created specifically for aviation settings, rather than adapting general-purpose buildings later.
The partnership is about more than design sketches. Figurr and Aureum plan to offer a full range of services, including feasibility studies, site selection, master planning, design, assistance with permits and regulations, and connections to existing airports and city projects. Figurr will also manage projects in Canada and share Aureum's vertiport technology nationwide.
This broad set of services matters because vertiports do not fit neatly into existing planning categories. They are not quite airports, transit stations, or industrial sites, but they follow rules from all three. Having one team that knows aviation rules, urban planning, and the technology can help move projects from idea to operation faster.
Vertiport Interior View. Photo credit: Figurr Architects Collective
Maybe Advanced Air Mobility will succeed in Canada, or maybe not, depending on aircraft, regulations, and public interest that still need to evolve. Actually, infrastructure is often shaping results before most people notice.
"Advanced Air Mobility isn't just about new aircraft—it's about creating the infrastructure that allows these innovations to safely and seamlessly become part of our communities. Our partnership with Aureum Mobility brings together world-class vertiport technology and Canadian architectural expertise to help turn the promise of AAM into a practical reality." - Keith Johnson, Architect, Associate | AAM Specialist, Figurr Architects Collective
