The Jebel Hafeet mountain, rising 1400 metres above the border of the UAE and Oman, is renowned for its stunning views, national park and World Heritage archaeological sites. It is the only mountain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Al Tamouh Investment engaged GHD as lead consultant to develop a detailed master plan and obtain all the relevant approvals for the development of a regional tourism, cultural, residential and leisure hub in the foothills of this iconic mountain.
The 1631 hectare site with a 272 hectare development hub will become home to 23,000 residents, includes 1700+ plots and has been designed to meet the needs of the growing population of nearby Al Ain, the second-largest city in Abu Dhabi.
The historical wadis (ephemeral streams) and date plantations that once filled the site, informed the design. Plan Al Ain 2030 , a high-level guiding document that sets out the vision, principles and objectives for the future growth of Al Ain, underpins the design and structure of the master plan. The vision was to develop a community that celebrates the site’s unique cultural assets and delivers a mixed use development that is attractive to live, work and play in a traditional Arabic setting. The final concept integrates residential, tourism and mixed retail with a high quality cultural and public realm including pedestrian-friendly spaces encouraging physical activities. The waterfront promenade enhances the existing waterfront and considered transport networks create connectivity to the broader region.
In delivering this project, GHD in collaboration with Autodesk, automated a master planning workflow. This automation enabled the team to deliver faster, more creative, more collaborative outcomes, for and with the client. This included optimising development statistics and a fully immersive design experience for the client.