A Green Neighborhood Rises In The Desert

April 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Dubai is not known for its energy efficiency, beyond an economy built on fossil fuels, it is known to build fountains and even snowy ski slopes in the middle of the desert.  That’s part of what makes the Madinat Al Soor project so intriguing – it is a design for a whole section of the city that emphasizes harmony with its desert surroundings, an energy-efficient mindset and a human scale.  When completed, it will create housing for 22,000 people, and add an interesting new element, connecting rooftop terraces which add a second level of pedestrian thoroughfare to the busy streets of Dubai.

Under the watchful eye of Design Studio Director, Steven Gifford, the architecture firm is seeking a “pleasant, humanistic feel – we are looking to bring this back into Dubai.”  The fact that there are few high-rises will contribute to that humanistic feel in a big way, as will deliberate organization of the buildings to create shading from the desert sun.  In fact, it is a neighborhood that insulates itself, where one building helps keep the others cooler during the day and warmer at night, to encourage more efficient living.  

What this has allowed is an interesting innovation, interlocking rooftop terraces.  According to one of the RMJM designers on the project, Magdalena Urbanska, “the connected rooftops and terraces reinvent the idea of community, by allowing shared resources to, for example, a pool on one rooftop and a luxurious, energy-saving garden on another.  In this way, an exclusive and luxurious community can form stories in the sky, enjoying the best amenities in the neighborhood.”

This is one trend we hope to see continue in Dubai, as it has the potential to bring energy efficiency and human-scale living even to the heart of the city best known for its excess.