Abu Dhabi Climate Resilience Initiative
How to use nature-based design and strategic public realm interventions to combat Urban Heat Islands.
Curious for more?
Fred Yuhe Zhang | 张宇和
Project Manager, Partner, Head of Chinese Market
Location
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Size
17,000 m2
Client
The Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport
Role
Lead Landscape Architect
Partners & Collaborators
CBT, Buro Happold
Challenges
Typology
Services
The Abu Dhabi Climate Resilience Initiative is part of a citywide public realm improvement initiative focusing on increasing pedestrian comfort levels in an outdoor desert climate through tactical interventions. The Initiative is one example of the type of design that could help cities worldwide deal with extreme heat.
By approaching the project through the lens of nature-based design, climate science, extensive research, and rigorous testing, the initiative deploys a combination of climatic strategies to effectively reduce the urban heat island effect in an environmentally responsible way.
Together, SLA, CBT, and Buro Happold developed the core strategies and methodology for the Climate Resilience Initiative, offering a new paradigm for public space design for all places that face urban heat issues.
As part of the program, SLA, CBT, and Buro Happold also designed three climate intervention ‘Pilot Projects’ (Abdullah Salem Mosque Plaza, Al Nahyan Pocket Park, and Bin Zayed Street Plaza) to explore and implement the Initiative’s climatic strategies and methodologies with the concrete aim of improving the areas’ UTCI numbers (Universal Thermal Climate Index) and provide a general lift in the quality of the public realm.
The pilot projects were devised to turn a variety of urban typologies (from existing plazas and streetscapes to neglected plots and busy traffic junctions) from hot and unpleasant transit infrastructures to cool and green public spaces for both leisure and mobility.
The pilots combine shading devices and natural shading with trees, planting, and natural spaces in combination with cooling misting systems to provide the citizens with cooling spots in the hardscape and built environment of Abu Dhabi.
In addition to the latest design innovations and technology, the pilot projects also draw on traditional local knowledge and building heritage, including the age-old designs of ‘sikkas,’ the traditional Middle Eastern pathways between buildings oriented to maximize breezes.
Overall, the pilots are designed with a careful layering of strategies that provide “cool spots” to extend the time that people will feel comfortable outdoors during the shoulder months and shoulder hours of the day.
The projects are continuously monitored and evaluated to ensure their direct positive effects on the public realm.
