Envisioned as the “new downtown” district for the City of Abu Dhabi, Abu Shuoom was a vacant island adjacent to the City’s central business district. The 360-acre island was envisioned as a mixed-use center, including a town square, residential, commercial and retail areas, a marina, hotel and parks. Key objectives of the master planning process included preservation of an existing mangrove, right sizing development density based on projected traffic demands to and from the island, and creation of meaningful parks and open space lacking in downtown Abu Dhabi.
The urban framework consists of 4 primary parts: streets, interior parking decks, perimeter residential, and towers. Multiple land use, building height, parking, and open space networks were developed and analyzed before a preferred plan was identified. Alternative building densities of 50, 70 and 111 million square feet were studied. Building heights ranged from 2 story residential villas to the 65 story iconic towers located in the central business district.
Typical block diagrams and street right-of-way sections emphasize the pedestrian oriented urban character of the project. Street right-of-ways vary between 25 and 83 meters. Collector and village streets include generous walks, parallel parking and pedestrian amenities.
Office: RNL
Client: Al Rayan Investments
Contributions: Master planning, design, density analysis, street sections
