The Sustainable Desert Paradox // MASDAR City
Carbon neutrality in the desert?
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (2010). Foster + Partners.
(ArchDaily, 2010).
As exotic as the desert is, alluding to the mystical tales of Arabian Nights, a sustainable carbon-neutral project is certainly not the first thing one would associate with the landscape of folding sand dunes. To heighten the paradox, carbon neutrality is certainly not associated with a city which has grown wealthy from exporting black gold. Indeed cheap oil has facilitated urban sprawl across the United Arab Emirates and accounts for 70% of the nation’s gross domestic product (Crot, 2013, p. 2812; Reiche, 2010, p. 378). The newly completed Masdar City, designed by Foster + Partners therefore stands as a hopeful testament against all the stereotypes we have placed upon the Arabian Gulf.
Solving the issues of urbanity - Masdar City is innovative in its introduction of multiple systems integrated to form
a truly sustainable outcome. Ideas which we may borrow for our less sustainable existing counterparts.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/26/arts/design/26masdar-graphic.html?ref=design
The city of Abu Dhabi has however drawn criticism, some arguing that the politicians are “using Masdar as a facade for the world while avoiding clamping down on unsustainable domestic lifestyles and public infrastructure.” (Crot, 2013, p. 2814). Indeed other critics have commented that Masdar City is “inherently unsustainable because it involves constructing a brand new city in an unquestionably resource intensive place, the desert.” (Lindabury & Stilwell, 2008, p. 5). On the surface, it definitely would seem logical, that developing carbon neutrality in a desert climate runs counter intuitive and could not possibly work. Norman Foster, the designer behind this masterplan takes a different stance, arguing that the constancy of the desert sun provides “a surplus of 60 percent of its own energy needs [through solar power]” and that being independent and off-grid means Masdar City “processes its waste water on-site which is recycled and pioneers many energy saving concepts.” (ArchDaily, 2010).
Truly changing for the better or a facade to hide behind? Masdar City's proposal
for the Sustainable City: built on the back of oil exports. (Masdar City, 2011).
Despite some critics having pointed out that the overall masterplan of “Abu Dhabi presents the picture of a city set on an utterly unsustainable course of urban development” (Crot, 2013, p. 2812), Masdar City may indeed prove to be a silver lining and an answer to our currently unsustainable cities. For many businesses and scientists, Masdar serves as a testing ground to show that emergent zero waste technologies “will work [on an urban scale] and are cost effective, [meaning that] these technologies can then be deployed on a large scale throughout the world.” (Lindabury & Stilwell, 2008, p. 8).
Wind funnels at the plazas, bringing down currents of air
to allow for natural ventilation to flow through the 'streets' of Masdar City. (Shahan, 2014).
Porous but solid, heavy thermal mass, solar panels and recessed balconies creates the ultimate balance between solar protection and solar capitalisation. (Shahan, 2014).
Close knit structures stand in contrast to the wide boulevards of Abu Dhabi, creating an enclosed open walkway, “aimed at being a highly pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city with mixed use development and energy efficient design” (Shahan, 2014). Wind turbines also help to facilitate transfer of air and encourage ventilation (Shahan, 2014). And thus, while it may be possible to ignore the dramatic irony of the world’s most sustainable city, funded by one of the world’s primary oil exporter, I believe it nonetheless will set an example for the world. If we can build a carbon-neutral city in the harshest desert, well, we can build them anywhere.
References
ArchDaily. “Masdar Institute / Foster + Partners”. (23 November 2010). Retrieved online on 27 April 2014 from: http://www.archdaily.com/91228/masdar-institute-foster-partners/
Masdar City. “Sustainability and the City”. (2011). Retrieved online on 27 April 2014 from:
http://masdarcity.ae/en/27/what-is-masdar-city-/
Laurence Crot. “Planning for Sustainability in Non-democratic Policies: The Case of Masdar City”, Urban Studies 50:13 (October 2013): 2810 – 2826.
Shawn Lindabury and Brian Stilwell. “Masdar – Evaluating the World’s Most Sustainable City”, (December 2008). Retrieved online on 27 April 2014 from: https://courses.cit.cornell.edu/crp384/2008reports/07MASDAR.pdf
Zachary Shahan. “Masdar City – Does It A Bright Future?”. (2014). Retrieved online on 27 April 2014 from: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/20/masdar-city-does-it-have-a-bright-future/