Water will be the lifeblood of the new garden city |
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Supporting a new city of more than a quarter of a million people with a system of waterways, parks and gardens will represent the largest formal urban masterplan in the southern Gulf, said CivicArts, the architectural firm for Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, in a press release yesterday.
With an estimated construction cost of more than $60 billion (Dh220.4bn), the Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, is destined to be one of the world's most ambitious urban projects, said the firm. The logistics of physically building such an immense development are matched by the monumental scale of the water management needed to transform the desert into a lush oasis, it said.
Tackling the challenge in a holistic fashion, the masterplan weaves water into the social fabric of a 21st century city, where the interests of transportation, recreation and environment will go hand in hand.
The master plan for the new city, designed by Eric Kuhne of the London-based CivicArts and unveiled by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, incorporates provision for homes, educational, financial and commercial facilities, iconic civic buildings, tourist landscapes and more parkland than can be found in London and New York combined.
"Water will be the lifeblood of this new city, pumped through a network of canals, pools and waterways creating a waterfront that will be unrivalled in the Middle East," said Kuhne.
The canal system, which will be navigable, will support life on many levels, providing wildlife habitats and numerous opportunities for leisure and recreation.
With 150km of waterfront and wetlands, the Central Union Canal will give the city's ecosystem the capacity to support a range of living creatures on a scale unprecedented in the Middle East. Canals, lakes, waterways and retention and detention ponds will all provide perfect habitats for the procreation and protection of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.
The master plan allows for a variety of waterway edges, including keystone walls with integrated planters, stepped terraces that will provide upper-level dining, mid-level cycle paths and lower-level walkways and gabion walls that can be planted with marginal and aquatic plants and set with boulders to create a natural, informal character.
There will also be beach and detention ponds - shallow ponds that allow easy access to the canal and will facilitate the provision of public beaches and informal lawn areas.
Planted shelves, featuring shallow pools with aquatic and marginal planting, will create attractive green strips along the water's edge.
Throughout the Union Canal, reeded biotope edges will combine engineered (chemical) and planted (biological) filtration systems to clean and recycle the water.
The extensive use of water in Islamic architecture is not a new concept. Historically, Middle Eastern architects were inspired by the ancient cosmological model of the universe in four quarters divided by two great rivers and canals and pools were integral to the design of courtyards, palaces, terraces and squares. Fountains were common features; evoking images of oases and springs.
Similarly, at Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens, the water channels, fountains and pools have become the organising elements of the extensive gardens and the uniquely Arabian pattern of parkways and canals has been inspired by the astrolabes, which once charted the heavens but have now become symbols of geometry for this new city.
The core element in the design is the Grand Canal that will wind its way from Dubai Creek and Business Bay through the astrolabe pattern to the heart of Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens before the waters return to the Gulf. The design means that residents, workers and visitors to the new city will never be far from gardens or water and the circling canals, culminating in a dramatic Grand Central Fountain, will be a unifying element.
From the outset, the main options for supplying water to the city have been either using the canal as a conduit or pumping the water under the sands. Using the canal means transferring seawater to the summit pound of the main canal, which lies 15 metres above sea level and also supplies the Grand Canal on the Mecca Axis. Using this method, the canal would be used to transfer water, employing bypass pipelines at key locks to obtain the hydraulic head needed to feed lower parts of the system. Pumps would provide water to the higher level.
The other option of delivering seawater by means of pipelines to the highest on-site elevation of 25 metres above sea level would mean water transfer throughout the network being achieved solely by gravity. This option allows for flexible positioning of water intakes, allowing the canal's route to bypass highly developed areas.
The water and power strategies will be supported by low water usage and energy-efficient buildings. Building control systems, combined with water and energy-efficient fittings, will minimise demand. Intelligently designed façades will maximise the use of natural light and buildings will integrate solar technologies to supply hot water as well as local cooling for those residences not connected to city-wide district cooling networks.
The city design will incorporate an unprecedented level of water recycling. Sophisticated water treatment will generate a non-potable water supply that will drive down potable water demand and a treated effluent stream will meet irrigation needs. Greening the city with parks, canals and ponds will attract migratory birds, enhancing local and global biodiversity. Planting will create cool corridors for walking and riding, said Kuhne.
By Staff Writer
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
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