THE Perth office of architectural firm Woods Bagot has beaten a field of international architects in the master plan design competition for United Arab Emirates University’s (UAEU) Maqam campus at Al Ain.
THE Perth office of architectural firm Woods Bagot has beaten a field of international architects in the master plan design competition for United Arab Emirates University’s (UAEU) Maqam campus at Al Ain.
Woods Bagot partner Ken Fisher said the winning design for the university involved more than architecture and master planning, and was also about understanding the values and priorities of another culture.
The project presented several interesting challenges to the design team from Woods Bagot, such as a consideration of local Islamic culture, inclusion of a naturally occurring oasis at the site, temperatures of 50 degrees celcius in summer and the university’s requirement to ‘pedestrianise’ the campus and provide outdoor recreational spaces.
Through the exploration and assessment of a variety of campus planning options – and after extensive consultation with the leadership team at the university – Woods Bagot was able to help the university achieve its strategic, academic and research goals, to address the students’ requirements and to provide links to the local community at Al Ain.
“Woods Bagot demonstrated that we could define the nature of the university’s key issues and collaboratively explore solutions rather than dictate a final solution on the UAEU,” Mr Fisher said.
The Woods Bagot master plan will shape a campus of approximately 500 hectares that is expected to rival the best in the world and includes: separation of vehicular and parking circulation from pedestrian movement; integration of the natural oasis through the use of meandering waterways within landscaped settings; minimisation of walking distances between buildings within a shaded campus; environmentally sustainable features such as waste water recycling and aquifer recharging; and Islamic cultural and architectural characteristics that respect and focus on local traditions.
The new campus is described as being fundamental to the United Arab Emirates’ strategy to provide a contemporary approach to world-class university education, and will be the nation’s centrepiece for higher education teaching and academic excellence.
With many Australian architectural firms looking to South-East Asia and the Middle East for contracts to help balance and supplement work received within Australia, the Woods Bagot win provides good news for those looking to expand internationally and export professional services to these regions.
Mr Fisher believes that this project consolidates Woods Bagot’s position as an emerging international design firm and that this win, along with other recently-won Middle East projects, will be very beneficial for Western Australian and Australian designers, as it will provide for synergies between Australia and the Middle East.
“Importantly, these international projects will provide an opportunity for our local clients to interface with worldwide initiatives and to benefit from worlds best practices in educational planning and design,” he said.