Place making

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A central feature of the Al Dana area will be its marina.

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Detail rendering of the Al Seef precinct.

Part of the challenge of working on the project was varying the detail of the individual areas whilst at the same time giving the project a unified design, says Craig Guthrie, associate director landscape architecture at design firm EDAW, which together with landscape practice Green Concepts is working on the landscape component of the project.

"On one level, we are doing a design that defines it as a city that is different to the rest of Abu Dhabi to give it its own character that is unique. On the other, we do have to create interest and character for the different precincts which have different land usages and also different people using the spaces so these spaces have their own identity and character," he says.

"For example, there might be a material that defines all the footpaths, or trees on the main boulevard that tie the main roads, but then on the finer grain the character changes," he adds.

Various design specialists including signage and wayfinding experts are collaborating on the project to help give the different areas individual character for each of the neighborhoods and to make the most of the open space.

Creation of a high quality public open space was in fact a key requirement by the client Aldar for the project, explains Esquisse's Stevens.

"The project is unique for the Middle East in that we are creating a high quality public open space that has a very significant relationship between building and open space. We believe that it will become the social gathering place for people within neighborhoods and within projects," he says.

Open space will account for approximately 1,464,512 m² of the total Al Raha development.

The project will have a total of five beaches, plus four marinas, and three parks as well as a variety of gardens.

Greater use of the public space throughout the year has been encouraged in the design of the development through measures such as shady walkways.

In the pedestrian areas, for example, hard pavements, which retain heat are to be minimised as much as possible, and replaced with planting which helps to provide shade.

An elaborate transit system - including a Light Rail Transit system - has also been incorporated into the plan to facilitate use of the open space.

Al Raha Beach is not the only major project under way in Abu Dhabi - the leisure driven Yas Island is another mega project in Abu Dhabi that has attracted much attention - but for outdoor design experts it is perhaps one of the most interesting to keep an eye on.

"For us what has given Al Raha a smoother path than some projects is having such a solid vision in the first place," says Stevens.

"Anyone coming onto the development is communicated that vision and what we are encouraged by is that everyone working on the site has bought into the vision and they all share a sense of working on something that is really special."

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