Masdar Plaza Abu Dhabi by Lava

Close up Umbrellas, photo credit: LAVA



Masdar Plaza, Oasis of the Future

LAVA have provided us with this information on their prestigious project in Masdar – the new master-planned CO2 neutral district in Abu Dhabi.

All images and information courtesy of LAVA. Please note the individual credits to the images. Copyright by desMena



Location: Masdar, UAE

Client: Masdar Future Energy Company

Status: competition win. Construction 2009-2013

Bird’s View Masdar, Photo credit: Simon



The City of the Future

The future well being of cities around the globe depends on mankind’s ability to develop and integrate sustainable technology.

Perspective Plaza Day, Photo credit: MIR

Masdar City is the city of the future; positioned at the forefront of integrating sustainable technology into modern architectural design. Rome, Athens, Florence; most great historical cities have had the plaza, forum, or square at their epicentre – where the life, values, ideals, and vision of the population evolved. Equally, the centre of Masdar must be an iconic beacon that attracts global attention to sustainable technology.

Perspective Plaza Night, Photo credit: MIR



Oasis of the Future

We see Masdar Plaza as “The Oasis of the Future”: a living, breathing, active, adaptive environment; stimulated by the social interaction of people, and spotlighting the use and benefits of sustainable technology.

Hence, our design proposal focuses on the delivery of three key issues:

1. Performance – to demonstrate the use and benefits of sustainable technology in a modern, dynamic, iconic architectural environment.

2. Activation – to activate or operate the sustainable technology in accordance with the functional needs of this environment, 24 hours a day, and 365 days of the year.

3. Interaction – to encourage and stimulate a social dynamic where the life, values, ideals, and vision of the population of Masdar evolve.

Perspective Plaza Evening, Photo credit: MIR



The “Oasis of the Future” is conceived as an open spatial experience, whereby all features; whether hotel, conference, shopping, or leisure, offer the highest quality of indoor and outdoor comfort and interaction.

As in the case of an oasis, the Plaza is the social epicentre of Masdar; opening 24-hour access to all public facilities. Interactive, heat sensitive technology activates low intensity lighting in response to pedestrian traffic and mobile phone usage. The Plaza is able to change into an outdoor cinema for international events and national celebrations.

Buildings’ surrounding the Plaza form gorges, evoking mystical comparisons with the Grand Canyon and the entrance to Petra.

Bird’s View Masdar Plaza Day, Open Umbrellas, Photo credit: Simon

The “Oasis of the Future” demonstrates sustainable technology in a user-friendly architectural environment – flexible use of space, outdoor and indoor comfort, and optimum performance.

Bird’s View Masdar Plaza Night, Closed Umbrellas, Photo credit: Simon



The user experience is the heart of the “Oasis of the Future”.

By analysing the potential pedestrian flows throughout the Plaza and surrounding facilities, the design seeks to accentuate this ‘loop’ of indoor and outdoor user-experiences This ‘loop’ marries the lowest possible energy expenditure to the highest levels of user comfort in correlation to pedestrian flows.

Bird’s View Masdar Plaza Day, Open Umbrellas, Photo credit: Simon



Sustainability

The following environmental and engineering design concepts will be utilized to minimize energy consumption:

– Radiant surfaces

– Air movement that supplements natural wind patterns

– Evaporating cooling mist

– Thermal mass and PCM

– Slab cooling and Luna Panels

– Shading of external facades surrounding the Plaza

Transition from Buildings to Plaza, Photo credit: LAVA (click image for hi res)



Our sustainable design and engineering philosophy balances the ‘vision of the future’ with ‘scientific fact and availability’. Our aim is to provide the Abu Dhabi Energy Company with the lowest possible carbon footprint, whilst maintaining the highest level of user experience within the practical viability of affordable architecture.

Our engineering specialists have analysed each component of potential energy expenditure and investigated individual efficiencies in order to reduce the carbon footprint. Even the façade of the buildings surrounding the Plaza will incorporate long-life, loose-fit structural design to enable flexible future planning and reconfiguration opportunities.

Switching and sensors will activate and deactivate features and functions in correlation with usage and pedestrian flow.

All front and back of house functions within the Hotel and Convention Centre will capture sustainability of water, waste, materials, indoor and outdoor environmental quality.

Perspective Section Through Plaza, Hotel and Convention Centre, Photo credit: LAVA (click image for hi res)



In fact, our proposal strives to exceed those of the Masterplan and is, in addition, benchmarked against Estidama and LEED (Platinum). Adaptive cooling provides all facilities with extended usability during peak heat loads.

Our ‘Petals from Heaven’ feature interactive umbrellas that open, provide shade, and capture energy during daylight hours; folding at night to release stored heat.

Solar analysis provides insight into the tuning of facades in order to incorporate an ability to respond to varying sun angles and levels of solar intensity.

Bird’s View Masdar Plaza Night, Closed Umbrellas, LED lights on the Plaza, Photo credit: Simon

The Oasis of the Future is a living, breathing habitat. The ability to control ambient temperature at all times of the day is the key to making the Plaza a compulsive destination. The gorges pull inhabitants into the loop. The ‘Petals from Heaven’ open and close; protect pedestrians from the sun; capture, store, and release heat; adjust the angle of shade based on the position of the sun. The heat sensitive lamps adjust the level of lighting to the proximity of pedestrians. The water features ebb and flow based on the intensity of ground temperatures.

The promenades lure pedestrians into the shopping and leisure facilities. Similarly, the public are seduced into the Plaza during cooler night hours and cooler months of the year.

Hotel

Our 5 Star Hotel is organised efficiently around a ‘Central Canyon’ and is linked to the Extended Stay Facilities via a ‘gorge’ housing Retail premises. The Central Canyon is a day-lit space deep within the building, connecting the hotel’s restaurants and ballrooms to the guest amenities.

Perspective Hotel, Photo credit: Simon



The hotel’s entrance and lobby, located at the base of the atrium, offers guests an immediate view out onto the Plaza in one direction and the green of the park in another.

Perspective, Photo credit: LAVA



Convention Centre

The western edge of the Plaza rises to create the Convention Centre forecourt and ascends as a continuous path into the Lobby area. Our design of the Convention Centre Lobby resembles an enormous, light-soaked cavern, providing an enclosure for the conference facilities with the Plaza framed in the background.

Perspective, Photo credit: LAVA



The awe-inspiring ‘erosion-effect’ design of the façade that flows across this edge of the Plaza is complemented by water features and also houses the sub-podium PRT and Retail concessions.

This spectacular conference facility, with its gigantic cavern atmosphere, will leave a lasting impression on all visitors.

Section Through Plaza, Hotel and Convention Centre. Climatic Diagram, Photo credit: LAVA (click image for hi res)



‘Masdar Plaza, The Oasis of the Future’ will create an iconic venue within a truly visionary city.

‘Masdar Plaza, The Oasis of the Future’ incorporates the highest level of knowledge and expertise in science, technology, and construction methodology, globally. It is an intellectual balance between iconic architectural identity, cutting edge sustainable design and technology.

Credits:

Architects:

LAVA

Laboratory for Visionary Architecture

Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck,

LAVA

Laborarory for Visionary Architecture

Asia Pacific

Surry Hills

Sydney NSW 2010

Australia

Phone: +61 2 92801475

LAVA

Laborarory for Visionary Architecture

Europe

Heilbronner Strasse 7

70174 Stuttgart

Germany

Phone: +41 711 722 329 01

www.l-a-v-a.net

directors@l-a-v-a.net

In Cooperation with:

Bob Nation/Kann Finch Group

Arup Sydney

SL Rasch

Transsolar

EDAW