Abstract
Abu Dhabi is in the process of urbanizing a group of Islands that surround its northern and eastern coastlines. Al-Lulu, Al-Saadiyat, Al- Maryah, Al-Reem and Yas Islands are all new urban enclaves that were desert islands and marshlands yet, have been developed over the past decade to urban islands that include epic and entertainment centres such as the Abu Dhabi Louvre, Guggenheim Museum, Ferrari World, NYU Abu Dhabi, the Paris Sorbonne Abu Dhabi in addition to iconic and exclusive waterfront residential units. These new islands re-brand the image of the main archipelago of Abu Dhabi that for decades retained a grid street pattern and pragmatic concrete blocks created in the late 1970s. The new urban islands transform Abu Dhabi’s image into a multinational modern Arab city seeking to become part of the global city network. Abu Dhabi’s new urban islands also act as breakwaters that protect the main archipelago’s coastline from erosion resulting from tidal change, because they are designed to include concrete and stone breakwater barriers. This paper represents a cross-disciplinary research between Civil Engineering and Architecture Departments in an attempt to explore the emerging infrastructure and urban expansion of Abu Dhabi from a multi-disciplinary perspective. We also highlight through simulating the effect of breakwaters on wave heights two scenarios for Al-Lulu Island the importance of these new barrier Islands on the urban expansion of Abu Dhabi.
Highlights
Abu Dhabi is reshaping much of its coastline through new urban developments and changing its image from a city known for its conservative local community to one that is more attractive to expatriate residents
This is achieved through the creation of a new group of urban islands that reshape desert islands and existing marshlands connecting them to the mainland through a series of bridges and supporting them with the necessary infrastructure. These islands act as protection for the coastline of the main archipelago because they entail the infrastructure through breakwaters and marinas to create barrier islands. These new urban islands are designed to exhibit the richness of Abu Dhabi as the Capital of an oil rich State, this is manifested through the construction of mega museums, iconic buildings and clustered epic centers to create new public spaces
Al-Lulu, Al-Saadiyat, Al-Maryah, Al-Reem and Yas Islands represent the new urban expansion to the main archipelago of Abu Dhabi, in their planning which is part of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision, reducing the effect of marginalization that occurs to old urban centers once new ones appear has been taken into consideration
Summary
Abu Dhabi is reshaping much of its coastline through new urban developments and changing its image from a city known for its conservative local community to one that is more attractive to expatriate residents. As its main waterfront promenade the Corniche of Abu Dhabi is undergoing major reconstruction projects that aim to improve its public spaces and communal spaces of gathering This is exhibited through the creation of public beaches connected to the Downtown via tunnels, the municipality is creating new entertainment hubs along the Corniche that include cafes, spaces of gathering, centers for sports activities, special lanes for jogging and cycling and shaded seating (Fig. 2). Sassaki’s design incorporates the new Abu Dhabi Media Company headquarters which will be sustained by hotels, retail, and high rise residential units overviewing the Corniche These visible changes in Abu Dhabi that aim for communal wellness and its transformation to a healthy city are witnessed by its residents especially the new buildings emerging along its coastline overlooking its newly created estuaries that separate between the mainland and its urban Islands. The second studies via simulation the shorefront protection system that accompanies the creation of these new urban islands using Lulu Island as a case study
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