Comments on: NORMAN FOSTER’S GREEN DESERT UTOPIA In Abu Dhabi

By: rojkcdkk

rojkcdkk — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:07:51 +0000

Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you really know what you’re talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my website =). We could have a link exchange contract between us!

By: livingdaylight

livingdaylight — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:39:38 +0000

It strikes me odd that this is still called and referred to as “Utopia” as in the title… even though it’s being done right here and NOW!

It’s great to see and inevitable… the trend will just get stronger and more widely manifest now.

I wonder whether Norman Foster has heard of Jacque Fresco and the Venus Project?
http://www.thevenusproject.com/
and indeed theZeitgeistmovement for that matter. Jacque’s ambition and vision goes beyond architectural design, to encompass social change by addressing ALL of its aspects and characteristics by invoking a full paradigm shift to enable this transformation, not just for some, but for all.

By: Jose Jaramillo

Jose Jaramillo — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:33:09 +0000

Beautiful Proyect

Congratulations….keep doing the good job

namaste
Jose

By: James adma

James adma — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:49:28 +0000

if you consider proposed population and cost of project m2, easily you conclude that this is not a city but a very luxury and costly walling village. This is just a large shopping center. Zero waste is not practical, sustainability allows for waste specially agriculture waste however this city does not produce its own food. I think calling it city is just a marketing act. Judging from released pictures it is easy to conclude that you will feel like living in a mega shopping center.

By: Said Mansi

Said Mansi — Sun, 16 May 2010 10:37:22 +0000

It,s really fantastic idea and i,am sure that it,ll be true. I,am german/arabic architect and i believe in such as future projects. I,am dreaming to share the work and carry out it with the team there!!
Said Mansi

By: rex

rex — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:49:12 +0000

Any idea who will want to live in Masdar- is it being created for Emiratis or ex-pats? Will the population of 47,000 be self selected?
Will the residents be prepared to leave their private cars outside the walls and use communal transport?

By: georgef747

georgef747 — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:35:17 +0000

Foster are just making money out of their reputation,
- or they have not done a thorough Business Case,
- or they have not done a thorough Due Diligence,
- or they have glossed/politiciced the cultural needs,
- and they have ignored (not the technology), the current/future climatic changes
- and they have passed over the requirements of the natural Fauna and Habitat of the region.

Let\’s start at the last point and work upward…..
1. A walled city will attract rats, vermin, fleas, and all other nasty co-inhabitants. Live there and you will see. No you will not be able to keep them out by walls. SOLUTION: Build an oasis. Provide Water AND Solar at the same time. The water will protect the solar farm – Palm trees grow in two years………..The vermin will be content to live in the sand under the moisture and shade of the palms. Then PLANT your City outlines. These can expand outward as the City grows.
2. The fall off for carbon fuels will be dramatic – within the next five years. No City, however well financed by sponsors can be self sustaining without a sufficient tax and capital injection into its Government. Ignore the Service Industries developing in the Emirates. I still see no contingency for this, other than self-sustainability for the City itself. Technology is the answer. Power is abundant, water could be abundant, Silica (humanity\’s building block) is abundant, labour is also there.
If we are to believe the science, our climate will become more humid. Great news for the Desert regions of this world, but no contingency planning?
Don\’t forget the lesson never learned throughout history. Communications, but not electromagnetic – all sorts of negative connatations. Light, light and light.
3. Let\’s not be pedantic or pessimistic, just pragmatic. The 50,000 odd people who will initially occupy the City will be the imported labour at lower cost bracket than the indigenous population. Certainly for the first 20 years. Of course they will be shoved out when the per capita income of the indigenous population falls with the loss of income resultant from the fall in Oil and Services industries – and it will fail.
4. Economic history tells us that less than 5% will make it, the remainder are relegated to political benevolence or malevolence. So it will be with the new City unless very carefull Due Diligence is applied. Build, create an everlasting monument, develop a technological wonder of the world in the form of a self-sustaining City. And then what?
Due Diligence requires a vision as well as a good look at history and the Business Case. War, Sand, Dust, Dates, camels and a very well educated upper and middle class, with a virtually free working class, are the cultural cornerstones of the Emirates. Try to build technology into this amalgam with a NEW city structure, and you have lost before you start.
5. The Foster Business Case by definition is based upon the TimeFrame to build the City, profit, investment, Goverment confidence, their reputation and of course the unmanageable TLC\’s.
I can step through the Top Level industries needed, but they have already done the same. I will only look briefly at the TLC\’s, which, unless supported by Service Contracts, will expire exceptionally after five years.
The City will require at least 5 years to become self-sustaining.
- Who will maintainthe roads and traffic loads? Rail and Air transport will not provide sufficient capacity.
- Who will maintain the Telecommunications?
- Who will maintain and assure the Water and Power supply
- The buildings,
- The integrity of the sewage, pipeworks,
- The ecology,
- Expasion plans,
- Integration,
- Survivability,
- Health and schooling,
- Logistics,
- you name it!

Bottom Line:
No City can be built greefield because of the simple Geopolitic! A City can be built technology self-sustaining but unless very solid governance is inbuilt (which requires a great deal of effort from the Prime), the City will very quickly become a province, area or district, and will lose its self-sustainability to due payments which because of its quodos, will start paying for the rest of the Emirates population.
Answer – build more, faster and under the right circumstances.

George Frost

By: Will

Will — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:50:01 +0000

China is already doing this with the Dongtan project. It is on an island, just a short ferry ride from Shanghai. I read a great series of articles, including an interview and video clips at http://www.cleanerairforcities.blogspot.com

By: tandy

tandy — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:37:36 +0000

its damn amazing. i\’am loving it seems like it will b the best place on earth but is it secured as it is completely ecofriendly is that safe to invest in this sought of properties where the security is not enough, hmmm…still have to wait till we get complete info.

By: Rachel James

Rachel James — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:13:20 +0000

I truly am at awe at this project. This is a tremendous step into the future and into living green. This city will help the world advance in many ways. The only concerns I have about this project is the “no car” rule. Im not sure I would want to depend on the government to supply all of my transportation. The thought of walking everywhere you have to go won’t be so popular to a woman in labor or the elderly. I also am a little concerned about how geometrically correct this city is. It seems to me that the government will except a perfect city…and this could cause problems for the citizens. I would like to see the city more pure, natural, and colorful; instead of so exact and plain. The city is a great idea and I hope to possibly move there oneday. The thought of living in a walled city is also a little disturbing. This just gives the government more power over the inhabitants in the city.

By: Yasmin C

Yasmin C — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 16:53:36 +0000

I like the way Norman Foster works but…lets keep in mind this is a walled project, the intention of producing for consumption in its surrounding land is a good point yet we need solutions in a larger scale in order to develop a sustainable city (and by larger scale
I mean using what we have instead of working from scratch). I wonder how many of us can afford to live in there and be part of that ecological system. Haven’t we got enough cities already that something can still be done with what we have instead of an isolated self-sustained community? I’m an architect in the third world already challenge by the consequences of wrong decisions and the lack of proper urban planning. I hope this won’t become one.

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:33:58 +0000

Energy is the key. And like money, it takes energy to make energy. The processing of the silicon to make the photovoltaic arrays requires energy at every stage. Every gram of concrete and every ounce of metal, glass and other materials require large amounts of energy to extract, refine, mold and assemble.

If the building, maintaining and eventual rebuilding of a city like this can be accomplished with truly renewable energy, the concept can go on as long as the sun shines. If there is an energy deficit in this scenario requiring infusions of nonrenewable energy, the concept is a hoax.

By: Alex C. Camprubi

Alex C. Camprubi — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:56:00 +0000

To add in besides what Simon Wright wrote, Masdar is one attempt to reach practical ways to develop future cities, It is admirable that an Architect can bring up this idea into ground.
Nature is responding to its ecological footprint, Investments are being lost because of this, and nations are responding also, adding themselves to the Kyoto Protocol. We can mention Dongtan in Shanghai, another serious step into the search of Zero Carbon emitions.
The word today is searching for ways to solve problems, including urban, as it did with Brasilia or Chandigarh we have learned from the experience and step up.
I hope we can discuss soon the experience of this city been built and how we can learn from this to develop applications for other locations worldwide.

By: Ronin_id

Ronin_id — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:59:11 +0000

Although I’m very intrigued by the possibilities of a fully sustainable city and defiantly think it can be a foot forward toward creating a better understanding of what it may take to bring to fruition, reality is still a factor. It’s hard enough as it is to fully realize a sustainable product into today’s mass market, it will be quite a challenge to make it happen with something the scale of a city. I see it more as a test bed, maybe if this city truly becomes a reality
It will help toward integrating some of these strategies into already established cities. The open real-estate of the world is quickly dwindling and there is a mess load of city infrastructures already in place that can use some rethinking. Theoretically it seems easier to make this concept work when constructing from the ground up, yet most of the negative impact created on our environment is primarily coming from cities that already exist, this is the greater challenge. All in all it’s a great thought and a positive direction but like any green idea, let’s make it happen and avoid ending up with another watered down green idea that only maintains 2% of its original intent!

By: Konstantinos Tolias

Konstantinos Tolias — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:42:46 +0000

A green step to sustainable development! … and who would have thought starting from Abu Dabhi! That is not only a great foundation-model for sustainable cities but probably a milestone to sustainable way of living.. I wish every country gets the idea as soon as possible!.. Great great step from Foster’s -it’s never too late for making up old mistakes like gla etc.- (my Sustainable Design Blog http://entersustainabledesign.blogspot.com/ mostly in Greek)..

By: Joge Albella

Joge Albella — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:19:36 +0000

The Foster´s dream in Abu Dabhi is not a utopia, is just a question of money and time, and as long as the Prince Zayed al-Nahayn is in the power, habing brillant ideas, (and being polite with the americans).

150 years ago nobody thought that is possible to drive trains by electricity, or nobody thought to recycle paper.

Long live Abu Dabhi! and congratulations to Foster + Partners!

By: Theo

Theo — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:08:05 +0000

I would have expected a better integration with the surrounding desert nature and not so geometrically pure as it looks like.

By: wesley bruce

wesley bruce — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 06:11:30 +0000

This is a very middle eastern desert city. Narrow streets, Shade cloths, small courtyards, no large open spaces except the rooftops. This all very old. It ensures natural shade to keep thing cool and prevents hot dry winds carrying dust from getting in. If the shade cloths and roof tops are solar cells and the air-conditioning is passive then they will meet the targets. As for transport and waste control the Epcot centre Walt Disney built decades ago has that solved. Tunnels under the streets with electric vehicles hauling in supplies and hauling off the waste to recycling centre. If your building from scratch its easy.
The real challenge is retrofit ; that’s where it gets hard every where. UAE should be commended for this response to peak oil and greenhouse.
As an aside, most forget that Kuwait was the country that put the most money into solar research and sustainable desert cities in the 1980′s but Saddam destroyed the research facility when he invaded. Kuwait hasn’t been able to recover the lead it once had.

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 17:01:21 +0000

Interview with Lord Norman Foster released in the UK’s Sunday Times Magazine this weekend:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2795808.ece

By: KLaus Kaiser

KLaus Kaiser — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:13:50 +0000

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