Greening by design

zoom

A rendering of The Galleries, sections of which are already occupied by international businesses. (Efraim Evidor/ITP)

zoom

DownTown Jebel Ali. (Efraim Evidor/ITP)

zoom

The plaza area is taking shape in the centre of The Galleries. (Efraim Evidor/ITP)

Added value

The long, thin footprint creates the ideal opportunity for Limitless to live up to its claims of environmentally conscious development through the implementation of a public transport system, which will run the length of DJA.

In February, CW revealed that six international firms are in the running for the design and build contract to provide the DJA “people mover”. An award is expected to be made in June.

“Within the scope we have indicated that we need something that is environmentally friendly and restricts the noise levels associated with transport,” Ameen said. “This may mean small shuttles, it may mean small train cars, and it may even mean a system of driverless mini-buses.”

DJA is conveniently located parallel to, and has in fact been planned around, the soon-to-be open red line of the Dubai Metro. Each of the four DJA zones are serviced by a separate metro stop, three of which are being constructed by Limitless alongside the RTA and its partners.

The metro will link up to whichever form of public transport the developer selects from the six proposals received.

“The Metro will bring people from different areas in Dubai, and the people-mover will transport those commuters within each zone,” Ameen says. “We have planned it so that every zone has its own people-mover operation. It will be the same system, but each zone will operate independently.”

As a further nod towards its sustainability commitments, Limitless is planning to mandate its sub-developers to build to Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) status – the third highest rung on the Leed ladder.

Reaching Silver Leed across DJA would be quite an achievement in a region struggling to live up to its past sustainability rhetoric in the midst of a financial crisis.

“Sustainability is a fact,” Ameen says. “It is there, regardless of the market fluctuations. When we build our communities, they are sustainable. In every project that we have built or officially announced, sustainability is a major part of the development.”

Macro-planning, people movers and multi-storey commercial towers aside, value-added features have also been included across DJA at the micro level. Sections of the kerbing are finished with granite imported from China, as opposed to standard concrete. Ameen himself took no less than three visits to the Far East to select the quarry that would supply the granite and finalise the deal.

Design limits

Despite the involvement of no less than 122 third-party developers, Limitless has a system of checks and balances in place to ensure a cohesive design and, eventually, a complementary built environment. Despite the name, there are indeed limits.

“When each of the sub-developers came to purchase a plot, they were able to choose based on what they would like to have,” Ameen says. “But each plot and its structure had already been pre-identified with regard to type, use and elevation.”

DJA is designed to accommodate around 200,000 people, with 50% of the development given up to outdoor spaces. It is a mega-project in an area that has set its sights on becoming the new “new Dubai”.

An 11km mega-project may take some time to get there, but like the metro that will serve its four zones, and the nearby Al Maktoum International Airport, Ameen is confident it will get there in the end.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM