Masdar city – Paradise built

In 2006, Abu Dhabi’s rulers decided to plough some of their billions of petrodollars into an ambitious plan to build a $22bn carbon-neutral, waste-free green technology centre amid the scrub desert outside the city.

The futuristic Masdar city project is the cornerstone of the Masdar Initiative, which was set up to help diversify Abu Dhabi’s economy away from hydrocarbons and towards what it hopes will be a greener, more sustainable future. Masdar hopes that the car-free city – which is designed by British architects Foster & Partners – will generate 70,000 jobs, house 40,000 residents and add 2 per cent to Abu Dhabi’s gross domestic product, when it is completed in 2016.

In March 2009 Masdar city was awarded the FT ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business award in the Environment category.

All Masdar’s buildings will be elevated above the ground to allow the city’s pod-like automated vehicles to whiz residents around the 6.5sq km development. The elevation will also allow easier access to the various sanitary and technological piping, wires and infrastructure, making them easier to repair and replace.

More than two-thirds of the city’s energy will come from solar farms and photovoltaic panels that will cover the rooftops, and all water will be cleaned and recycled. Sensors will warn when pipes are leaky, and parks will be populated by hardier plants than the water-thirsty foliage that dots the rest of Abu Dhabi. Even the wind will be harnessed. The city will be surrounded by high walls to keep out the sand and grit that permeates the Middle East, but wind will be funnelled through the city’s main entrances, helping to keep the city cool and breezy.

A crucial part of the Initiative is the creation of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, in partnership with MIT, that will be the world’s first graduate level institution dedicated to the study and research of advanced energy and sustainable technologies. Instead of merely engaging in “greenwashing”, the objective is to become a global hub for world-class education and research in energy and sustainability.

Original article: Robin Wigglesworth. Financial Times. 20 March 2009. Read more…