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Medinat Al Irfan

Muscat, Oman
for OMRAN
2014-16

Design for a new city for 280,000 people in open desert near Muscat airport. Working with Allies & Morrison and Arup, the concept is to create a new capital district that is fully sustainable in the climate, culture and commerce of the region. The design is led by the landscape, hydrology and topography of the central wadi valley.

Buildings are placed on the ridges and connected by a series of inhabited bridges, with over 200 linear kilometres of agricultural terraces created on the steep sides of the wadi. The terraces will be irrigated by grey water rich in nitrates and phosphates, that will be cleaned by the plants and limestone as it filters down to the wild wadi below. Over 20,000 new date palms will shade and organize the urban spaces.