Showcase: Abu Dhabi Cool Corridor
The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) organised in 2020 an open design competition for a typical open square in the city of Abu Dhabi. The design challenge received 300 entries from 67 countries. Abu Dhabi’s Cool Corridor was an entry submitted by a multi disciplinary team, led by studio 4215, which provided a solution for not just the square itself but also how such squares across the city need to connected to each other to form a network of well performing public spaces. The proposed solution was modular and mainly identified the key components and their performance potential in the context and climate of Abu Dhabi.
The design proposal represents a true collaborative effort between the thinking, the testing and the implementation teams. ENVI-met provided the perfect tool/platform for testing of ideas and more importantly, for comparison between options relating to materials and passive design measures. In Abu Dhabi’s climatic conditions, untreated outdoor spaces could reach unfavourable/unusable conditions for walking/ cycling for more than 7 months of the year.
Landscaping combined with passive and active measures can provide outdoor comfort and minimise the local heat stress. These strategies were tested and proven to be highly effective for Abu Dhabi. The modular nature of the proposal implies more such squares could be created and connected to form a network or a ,Cool Corridor’ – allowing local residents to comfortably move across the city.
The entry received a special mention award.