OMA has created a major educational masterplan for the Government of Dubai Knowledge Fund. Located in the centre of Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), the future project will be the world’s largest free zone dedicated to higher education.
The DIAC contains 25 international universities and educational institutions, hosting 24 000 students from 145 nationalities. Dedicated to student and staff accommodation, the 155 hectare site will be “a vivid and modern hub for the academic city”, but it will also host office, retail and hospitality facilities, and capacity for centres of excellence and research and development facilities.
The masterplan is designed in a checkerboard-like layout where the most of educational facilities are integrated within the plan. It is arranged in three rows and 6 columns. Each 360 x 360m block, based on a walking distance radius of 250m, will be structured differently, inspired by existing successful urban typologies, producing different urban qualities within the masterplan. A central pedestrian spine will be defined within the office and education buildings, linking all the individual office developments and extending towards the residential blocks.
Public spaces will be carved out of each individual block to form a continuous loop of landscaped parks for recreation.
“The site connects to two highways, namely Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street (D54) and Emirates Road (E611), and different public transportation systems; it is important to note that the Dubai Metro Green Line will be extended to reach the development site.”, explains OMA. The grid ensures that, from any point in the block, it is possible to reach a main road and a bus stop.
https://www.archdaily.com/928700/oma-unveil-major-education-masterplan-in-dubai#