November 2020

The First Specialised Landscape Magazine in the Middle East

middle east

november 2020

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The First Specialised Landscape Magazine in the Middle East

Editor’s Note In this issue, Innovation is a popular buzzword these days. Regardless of the industry, it’s safe to say that everyone is aspiring to be ahead of their competitors!

If there’s one positive that’s transpired from our experience of the Coronavirus, it’s that companies and creative industries have become even more innovative. The Landscape industry is no different, a great example is the international landscape architecture studio LAND’s new project to combine innovation with nature. Using IKON technology, LAND have launched, Isonzo XR, to bring to life the province of Gorizia in Italy and in particular, Gorizia’s Viatori garden with a multimedia narrated launch experience this month. Read more about the project on page 32 Another spark of innovation comes from Asia’s largest urban rooftop farm based at a Bangkok university. Integrating landscape architecture with the ingenuity of traditional rice terraces, TURF incorporates sustainable food production, renewable energy, organic waste, water management and public space. Read more about it on pg 14 Back in the region, we feature projects by X Architects and Verdaus, Rub’ Al Khali Desert Resort deep in the empty quarter desert. See page 10 We also feature public parks in Bahrain and Sydney’s business district gets an expansive new waterfront cove and boardwalk that will significantly add to the city’s public realm. For this and much more read on…

Managing Partner: Ziad Maarouf Amine Copy Editor: John Hampton Sales Manager: Boushra Dinnawi Administrative Assistance: Sarry Gan Art Director: Ramon Andaya Contributors: John Davies, Bruce Pedersen, Anna Klingmann, Farah Hamza, Eleonor Joslin, Jimena Martignoni, Nick Vellacott Printed by: Al Nisr Publishing LLC Webmaster: www.pdinventive.com

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10 contents 4 November 2020 - Issue 161

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Think Local Rub’ Al Khali Desert Resort Feeding the Future Bahrain’s Muharraq Al Kubra Garden Walkable Cities

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A new harbour cove and boardwalk opens in Barangaroo, Sydney’s new business district.

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How to protect plant species of conservation interest in urban landscapes?

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New Sustainable Landscaping Boutique Launches Online in the UAE

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Nature comes to life

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I interview

Think Local The use of native plant species is on the rise in the UAE but there is still room for improvement Bruce Pedersen

Technical Manager - Landscape Sharjah Investment and Development Authority By way of some background; as a young horticulturist in South Africa in the mid 1980’s indigenous/ native plants were considered fringe landscape materials; most landscapers didn’t know them, relate to them, know how to use them, or have much interest in using them. Apart from a small dedicated group of nursery men, very few nurseries were even interested in propagating indigenous plants.

Fast forward a few years, extended periods of drought, growing demands on water resources and increasing mandated water restrictions started to drive the industry away from traditional “lush” landscape planting. Local governments and municipalities started to seriously evaluate and legislate changes for plant materials before they were included in the urban landscape. However, one of the pivotal movers to a new landscaping approach was the amount of information that was publicly disseminated through the media

Ziziphus spina-christi is a fruiting naturalised tree

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Haloxylon sp. in native environment

and environmental agencies. An informed public started to create a demand for native plants which previously did not exist, and remove older, thirsty, and invasive species.

This gave rise to initiatives such as the “Waterwise” program, which does not specifically remove all non-native plant species from the planting palette, but allowed for the integration of selected non-native species with low-water consumption together with an expanded native palette.

These challenges and changes shook up the landscaping and nursery industries; leading to the development (or selection) of new plant materials, rejuvenation and renovation of old landscapes, innovations in the usage of hardscape materials as well as the specialisation by landscapers, designers and irrigation professionals. The Australian landscape industry was faced with and underwent the same metamorphic processes at approximately the same time.

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Senna italica flower

Local wildlife and native plants are inter-dependant on each other for their continued survival

Heliotropium curassavicum is an extremely useful groundcover

Prosopis cineraria is found throughout the region

Mixed cultivated native planting

Place this in a regional context of water scarcity and climate.

Ground water supplies are dwindling, or becoming saline, potable water is an expensive overhead on large landscapes. Treated Sewerage Effluent (TSE) water sources are also not infinite; volumes fluctuate seasonally according to incountry population densities and are affected by available physical infrastructure to distribute as well as the increased demand for this resource from competing projects.

The Regional climate of the Middle East does not (yet) seem to be influenced by any macroclimatic shifts related to Climate Change, but the annual norms are extreme. Without the constant reminder of a flourishing green landscape one forgets that much of the region is classified as desert. Therefore, it seems only logical to promote more sustainable forms of landscaping.

What are the biggest challenges when working with native plant species?

Lack of information regarding usage of these species; be that selection, placement, irrigation demands, fertiliser usage or even continued maintenance, to the point that some producers and contractors consider it “proprietary� information.

Lack of actual physical plant materials that are available in the market. I have reviewed dozens of BOQ plant lists over the years calling for the most obscure plant materials that simply don’t exist in the commercial market; this is more prevalent when developers use non-local consultants who seem to use environmental or conservation reports as a source of plant materials.

The average annual rainfall of the UAE is only 120mm (0.32mm of water per day per square meter), this normally occurs during the winter months, but varies from region to region. By comparison, an average square meter of non-native

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I interview

Mixed planting Zygophyllum, Tephrosia, Senna and Calligonum

Mixed planting of native shrubs and grasses

turf grass receives approximately 12mm of irrigation water per day during midsummer and down to about 8mm during the cooler periods of the year.

How can these challenges be addressed by landscape professionals?

Establish a native plant database, detailing the plant, its specific native habitat, soil requirements, microenvironment, flowering and growth characteristics, seasonality and all importantly water requirements.

Even within the broad context of “native” plants, most plants will perform better in situations that are as close to their natural environment as possible.

Develop a suitably mixed palette of native and “waterwise” non-native plants to use, this will serve as an intermediary stage until the palette of usable, native plants is extended and developed.

Define the plant palette before starting and find out what is commercially available.

Establish the basic pricing of the plant materials before planning; on average native plant species are going to cost between 4 and 5 times the price of non-native species of the same size specification.

This is sometimes a hard sell to a client. This cost is largely due to supply and demand and to recover ongoing R&D costs that are associated with evaluating and propagating new candidate materials; as more and more nurseries start to grow and produce them the unit rate will eventually drop.

Native plants can be used in both structured and informal planting designs. Structured simply requires finding the right plant that will provide the characteristic’s and effect in a linear or more formal affect. Informal planting means that you are

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Zygophyllum used in informal planting

Mixed planting of native shrubs and grasses

Leptadenia pyrotechnica in production

Young Ziziphus spina-christi

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wanting to recreate the informal, diverse planted areas reminiscent of nature. Informal planting relies on the blending on different plant materials in an aesthetically pleasing balance. I often take pictures of native plant groupings that I find in the desert, wadi’s or alongside the road, from this you can determine the plant species, distribution, and ratio of species. This provides a guide or framework to work from when developing a planting scheme.

Determine the type of landscape and planting density required, many native species are going to be slow growing. This means that if only small plant materials are available (which will probably be the case), full cover and density may only be achieved after two or three seasons of growth. What could be done is planting at a higher density, which will increase the per meter cost of the project, or retain the “ideal� planting density, and opt for a slightly less finished installed look until the plants mature.

Irrigation options Establish the water source and budget before starting the design. Most designers follow a bottomup approach, in that they design the landscape and then calculate the water consumption for the site.

Reverse this to a top-down methodology, establish a practical water budget first, and see what amount of plants you can afford to use; a simple spreadsheet with quantities, requirements and numbers can help to produce a basic, balanced plant list.

Most native species are more tolerant to higher levels of saline water (or are even halophytic), this opens the door to using saline ground water or blended options to reduce the use of potable or TSE sources.

Mixed informal native planting

Acacia tortilis and Tephrosia in natural environment

Euphorbia larica in its natural environment

Butterfly on Heliotropium bacciferum

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I interview Informal native tree and shrub planting

Invest in a good irrigation design and infrastructure. The purpose of using native plants is to reduce water consumption; in their natural habitat many of these species will use up to 25 times less water than non-native contemporaries.

A more compartmentalized approach would add more valves, infrastructure, and development costs, but offers more enhanced control in mixed planting areas.

TSE water as a source. It is obvious that the high nutritional content of TSE water has a physiological effect on the growth rate of these plants, resulting in fast, softer growth than would normally be expected in the wild. A common example is the street-side Ghaf trees which are often used in Municipal plantings, based on observations these seem to grow at least 5 times faster than those in the wild.

Euphorbia larica

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Installing native plants Plants need to be planted with as much care as possible; considering the costs of these plants this should not be left up to untrained staff. Water the plants well a day or two before planting, it is best to plant when the soil is moist and binds together rather than to have the root system fall apart. Native plants, for the most part is grown in (native) sand; without much fibrous material or compost in the soil mix, the root-ball will be heavy when wet and breaks apart easily. It is almost impossible to remove them from a pot without some form of root damage; the easiest method is to prepare the hole, lie the plant on its side and then slide it out of the pot and then into the ground. If the plants are in bags, the bag can be placed in the planting hole at the correct depth, the bag split and then pulled from beneath the plant.

A word of caution, some species do not transplant very well and have a high mortality rate when planted.

In most instances, smaller plants have better rate of survival, and once established are better adjusted than installing large mature plants.

As with most plants, planting depth should be correct, not too deep, and not too shallow. Planting too deeply can result in collar rot, planting too shallow can result in the surface roots being burnt or exposed.

Once planted water well, but sparingly to settle in, ensure that the irrigation system is functional at time of planting. Remember, native plants and will

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not tolerate continually waterlogged soils, but will require sufficient moisture to overcome transplant shock and to acclimatize.

The effects of wind cannot be underestimated especially during the autumn and spring; aspect of buildings as well as the time of the year can result in strong winds being funnelled across exposed sites, sometimes removing as much as 10cm of soil per day. Low planting density and the inability to continually dampen the soil can result in the roots of some of the plants being exposed increasing plant losses. In a natural ecosystem plants have to contend with wind, but if you take a close look at a typical desert environment you will see that successful plant materials tend to survive clustered in protected pockets rather than to be found in large numbers on exposed sand dunes. On the positive side, once the plants have established, grasses and those with shallow root systems will ensure that the soil is bound and reduce the amount of wind erosion over a site.

Fertiliser; again, while there are no long-term observations on the use of chemical fertilisers I would suggest that these be kept to a minimum, in their natural habitat most native plants have very little access to any form of fertiliser, with the majority of nutrients coming from decomposing vegetable and animal matter. From experience with South African indigenous plants, artificial chemical fertilisers are strongly avoided as they result in rapid pH and salinity changes to the root zone which due to the lack of organic matter in the soil cannot be adequately buffered. This can cause damage to the root system and affects the plants ability to absorb water.

Maintenance of native plants Make sure staff are aware which plants are natives and need to be retained, as opposed to ones they simple deem to be “weeds� and remove. Staff who are not used to working with native plants can quickly destroy a native landscape without training and supervision.

Do not clear leaf litter from around the plants, this has a mulching action and decomposes to release nutrients back into the soil; it also helps to bind the soil and reduces the effects of surface wind erosion.

Rouge out unwanted species such as Mesquite and Calotropis which can be invasive when they take hold.

Fast growing grasses can be reduced to one third of their mature height if they start to over grow other plants.

Mixed native planting achieved with a strict water budget

Most native plants prefer a light, formative, irregular styled pruning rather than clipping and hedging, this also provides a more natural aesthetic.

Some species are more responsive to formal pruning, Salvadora persica and Aerva javanica, for example make good clipped hedges.

Avoid chemical fertilisers, use slow-release organic fertilisers if necessary.

Check the irrigation system regularly and tweak as required, adjust the system for seasonal fluctuations.

In conclusion, the use of native plants in the local landscape is on the increase, this can be advanced through collaboration between designers and plant producers, sharing of information and resources advances the industry as a whole and provides clients with more sustainable options. Ultimately, the objective is to deliver a solid, low maintenance project within budget to a satisfied client.

UAE East coast, coastal halophytes

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I ARABIAN RESORT

Rub’ Al Khali Desert Resort

By: x-architects A luxury desert hideaway resort located in the Arabian Peninsula’s empty quarter in Saudi Arabia, known as Rub’ Al Khali sounds like the ultimate escape. However, when you’re dealing with the world’s largest sand sea, holding about half as much sand as the Sahara Desert and the terrain is covered with 250-meter-high reddish orange sand dunes, interrupted only by white salt flat called ‘Sabkhas’, its takes a great deal of ingenuity to turn this ultraharsh environment into a luxury retreat.

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The vast emptiness of the desert posed a major challenge for X Architects, the company tasked with designing the new resort. Principal architect and cofounder of the Dubai based Architecture firm, Ahmed Al-Ali explained the complexities of such a project: “We go to the desert to become one with nature, experience solitude and ponder about creation.

Scarcity intensifies our awareness of subtle differences. We start to notice the magical spectrum of light throughout the day. At night, the desert transforms magically: the air is cooler, stars emerge like the Arabian Nights tale, and darkness has infinite shades! Exquisite indigenous plants are shaped beautifully and protect themselves from the extreme environment. The wind becomes like a land artist, moving similar sized sand particles and minerals in one zone to reveal the richness of its intense color.”

Farid Esmaeil, co-founder of X Architects continued: “to ensure that we intensify the experience of visitors with their surroundings, we created a constellation of architecture that is strategically placed on the vast terrain using its unique qualities. For example, we embedded dune shaped units in a ‘Roman Theatre’ configuration that offer a remarkable view of sabkhas, however, each unit remains private! Other units grow vertically like

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I ARABIAN RESORT

a desert flower and are placed on the highest point of the site, offering uninterrupted views to the stars.

A white spa carpet, created out of salt, intensifies the minerals existing on the salt flats which are used for their healing qualities. A ‘living room’ hidden between ‘walls of sand’ offers visitors a calm, serene and tranquil environment.

“The desert flower Cistanche Tubulosa, indigenous to Rub’ Al Khali, inspired the elongated form and enclosure of the flower villa structure. The elevated position of the villas gifts residents with a complete view of Rub’ Al Khali’s expansive desert dunes and ensures complete privacy. The structure’s vertical habitation emphasizes the relationship between desert dwellers and the starry sky. A polymer fiber mesh encloses the structure partially to minimize exposure to sandstorms and harsh sun, collect water for the indigenous garden and supports the structure.

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“The Dune units are shaped in the form of sand banks that resemble the existing texture of the terrain, leaving behind a trail of natural Architecture that respects the site and context. Our proposal results as a minimal intervention to the context, rather than a direct interference which brings back a piece of the desert. A vertical garden was incorporated to create an ecosystem that is served by the reuse of water and vegetation, and enhanced by the stepped back wall that seamlessly sinks into the existing sand dunes.

The formation of dunes and the carving nature of the desert inspired the conceptual approach of the Main Arrival Hall. To create a strong relationship between architecture and landscape, the interior spaces were carved from the landscape and dunelike columns are filled by time with sand. The roof includes skylight openings that radiates natural light and brings the desert landscape into the interior. Using a similar organization system as the interior, the exterior begins to form cascading pools, terraces, and garden spaces that extends out of the landscape. Recycled grey water is used as a sustainability method for the pool and water features.

To highlight Rub’ Al Khali’s flat land/sabkhas, the spa takes the form of a white salt carpet with underground spaces defined by a series of one directional walls. Sunlight is set to filter in occasionally through incisions/cuts in the surface salt carpet which was created through concentrating and compacting all surface salt into a flat platform.

All spaces celebrate privacy, serenity and relaxation and use the healing quality of salt to create a natural experience. Programs extend from the serene ambiance of the underground to sun lit spaces, and desert view treatment rooms above ground.”

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I URBAN ROOFTOP

Feeding into the Future

Asia’s largest Urban Rooftop Farm located in the Thai capital Bangkok is combining traditional landscape architecture with sustainable food production to feed an entire university By: LANDPROCESS Amidst the climate crisis, food and water scarcity pose tremendous threats to human civilization.

Once abundant agrarian societies, Bangkok and cities across Southeast Asia, have fallen victim to unregulated urbanization. To prioritize global food security, and the health of our people and the

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environment, cities must utilize neglected spaces to efficiently and sustainably produce food.

LANDPROCESS, a Bangkok-based landscape architecture and urban design firm joined forces with Thammasat University in Bangkok, to repurpose 236,806 sq. ft. of wasted rooftop space

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and turn it into Asia’s largest organic rooftop farm— known as Thammasat University Rooftop Farm or TURF. Integrating landscape architecture with the ingenuity of traditional rice terraces, TURF incorporates sustainable food production, renewable energy, organic waste, water management and

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I URBAN ROOFTOP

public space. The mound shape architecture pays respect to the university’s former director, Dr Puey Ungphakorn. “Puey” means “mound under the tree,” or “nourishment,” in Thai. With an earthwork of rice terraces and modern green roof technology, the cascading rooftop absorbs, filters

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and slows down runoff 20 times more efficiently than conventional concrete rooftops.

As rainwater zigzags down the slopes, TURF grows food to feed the campus. At the end of its journey, four retention ponds await on each wing, mitigating and storing excessive rainfall for future

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use during drought. Carving into the mountainous architecture, TURF maximizes the terrain to create multi-functional public spaces, and a large amphitheatre with a 360-degree panoramic view of Bangkok. The roof is equipped with solar panels, capable of producing up to 500,000 watts per hour to irrigate the urban farm and power the building beneath it.

As lush green turns to dry brown, TURF has a realistic, but hopeful solution, putting urban dwellers back in tune with agricultural practices.

Lessons on Thai agriculture, landscape and native soil are embedded into TURF, educating future leaders to adapt and embrace climate challenges, by building sustainable cities for generations to come.

LANDPROCESS is helping to shift cities to a carbon neutral future and confronting the future climate uncertainty. Their mission is to defend and expand carbon-sequestering landscapes such as green roof, water-efficient design, urban farming, urban forests, wetlands, and grasslands, helping to drawdown atmospheric carbon dioxide and use of sustainable materials and construction practices.

All of these efforts also enable communities to better adapt and improve their resilience.

Credit to: v2com

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I garden

Entrance and Exit to Al Kubra Garden

Aerial View of Muharraq Al Kubra Garden showing the serpentine walkway and circular areas

Aerial view of the diamond patterned circular footpath

Aerial view of the Main Plaza complex showing all the elements combining to form a single unit, linked by an linear paving pattern

Bahrain’s Muharraq Al Kubra Garden By: John A. Davies As part of the government’s 2030 vision for the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning are initiating the construction of a number of large public gardens - one for each of the four governorates of the kingdom, one is Muharraq Al Kubra Garden.

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Strategically located near Bahrain International Airport on the Island of Muharraq, Muharraq Al Kubra Garden creates a visually pleasing “living picture” for visitors to connect with nature, relax and enjoy themselves, thereby improving their general state of health, well-being and happiness.

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The Main Plaza with the fountain feature

The garden will serve as a green lung for Muharraq by absorbing pollutants from the air.

Broad esplanade passing by the Investment Area with restaurants and Coffee shops

The main entrance is located in the north-west corner, and provides immediate access to the parking area, which is tree lined and features a refurbished mosque in keeping with the modern architectural style of the garden. Access to the garden is via a broad esplanade which passes by the investment area comprising coffee shops and restaurants, and leads directly to one of the circular children’s play areas.

Another entrance/exit is located on the west side of the garden, visitors passing by administration and commercial units and on their way into the garden, also passing through the pergola shaded seating areas to the main plaza and the fountain feature. The main plaza, in the form of a circle, is set in a combination of planting and paved areas, through which broad footpaths with precast seating lead to other circular elements forming children’s play areas.

The Flagpole Symposium

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I garden As may be seen from the Master Plan the curvilinear edges to the main plaza fit nicely into the overall curvaceous feel of the garden as expressed in the serpentine walkway and circular aspects. For these represent a striking feature of the design of the garden and serve to unify it.

The walkway is 800m long and 8m wide and at its northern end forms a circular area with a flagpole flying Bahrain’s national flag at its centre, called the Flagpole Symposium.

Colonnade Seating

The broad esplanade (centre of the image) leading directly to the circular Children’s Play Areas and the Main Plaza

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As the walkway winds its way through soft landscaping, an avenue called the pattern walkway branches off to the Main Plaza. Continuing its journey the winding walkway passes a sculptural exhibition, before embracing a series of circular and semi-circular open spaces; these featuring trees and tensile shade structures for picnics, prior to approaching the southern entrance and returning taking the western side of the garden, terminating at the Main Plaza.

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Precast Seating

The Master Plan shows the east and west aspects of the walkway partially enclose a pavement network comprising a diamond - like pattern. These are complemented by wooden seating areas set against tall walls inspired by the idea of a colonnade, arranged in a north- south linear layout. The diamond shapes forming the pavement network start large at its southernmost point and gradually reduce in size until they form the actual pattern of a circular footpath, which surrounds an expanse of grass lawn.

Precast Seating

Aerial view of a circular area with a tensile shade structure

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I garden

Western entrance to Muharraq Al Kubra Garden

Exercise area

Perspective view of the car park showing the mosque and palm trees in the medians.

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Master Plan of Al Kubra Garden

The serpentine pathway in tandem with the circles represents a striking characteristic of the garden’s design. A notable aspect is its friendly consideration of the disabled members of the community reflected in assisted toilets, elimination of kerbs and easy access to facilities.

The garden has over 1,000 trees, many being date palms, evergreen trees and fruit trees. In several of my previous articles when talking about preserving the culture and identity of Arabia by creating oasis cities, it’s this principle of combining date palms with fruit trees, so typical of the Bahraini palm plantation, which inspired me; and in Al Kubra Garden it is actually being done – with fruit trees at that! Though the principle includes other palms and ornamental trees as well, which are also represented in the garden. Completion of the garden is scheduled before the end of the year.

The Pattern Walkway

Wooden Seating Areas

Pergola Shaded Seating Areas

Images courtesy Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Planning.

Children’s Play Area

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I streetscapes

Walkable Cities

By:Anna Klingmann

Turning Jeddah’s streets into walkable landscapes

Walking is the oldest and simplest form of human transportation. However, in Jeddah, walking a few blocks or crossing a street is not only an inconvenience but poses a danger to any pedestrian. With this project, our goal was to transform four car-oriented streets in Jeddah into integrated and pedestrianfriendly streets where people can effortlessly do their errands, shop, talk, sit and, most importantly enjoy themselves. Throughout the history of cities, streets provided people with vital public open spaces right outside their homes. Traditionally, streets represented not only circulation nodes but important places for people to linger, interact, and enjoy each other’s company. A turning point in the holistic perception of streetscapes as public mixed-use spaces happened during Modernist era with the widespread separation of car and pedestrian movement with priority given to vehicular motion. This affected the social, economic and environmental interaction of most communities in an adverse way, leading to suburbanized clusters with little vitality, a trend that is still prevalent in Jeddah today. Fact is that activated pedestrianoriented streets are essential ingredients of vibrant cities. As a part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts in the field of urban development and sustainability, this project was conducted with fifteen students at Effat University in Jeddah who worked in groups to redesign four major east-west roads in Jeddah from car-oriented unwalkable streets into vibrant pedestrian oriented streetscapes.

The Case of Heraa Street Student Team: Wed W. Al Yamani, Azzah A. Al Qarni, Atheer M. Al Mehmadi Heraa Street from the intersection with King Abdulaziz Street from the East to the intersection with Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Street from the West

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is a quiet residential street with few commercial projects and hotels. From an urban point of view, the street seems underutilized in many aspects, not only due to the number of brown fields that flank the street on both sides, but also due to the low level of social engagement and ineligible sidewalks. The location of the street, which is in close proximity to the city’s waterfront governs the high value of the surrounding properties, which in turn determines the affluent social class of the residents. However, the high economical level of the resident users is not reflected in the street’s negligent appearance and services. Accordingly, residents prefer to stay within their own properties particularly since the street does not serve them in on a social or commercial capacity.

The students’ response to this dilemma was to create a vibrant outdoor/indoor district to activate the streets from both sides in order to better serve the residents and to promote the street as a cultural destination to visitors. Accordingly, the project focused on five objectives, which included the utilization of empty lots with commercial and cultural uses, urbanizing the street with activities, landscaping, and street furniture while also striving to maintain the privacy of the residents. Lastly, the intention was to identify the district with an iconic feature. To achieve these objectives, the students proposed an activated pedestrian strip, wrapped by a cycling loop in the center of Heraa street, which would, on the one hand, slow car traffic and, on the other, encourage pedestrian activity and easy access to adjacent commercial and cultural venues. In order to encourage social interaction, the mall provides a wealth of outdoor experiences, divided into four main zones. The first zone is a designated art zone where visitors can experience outdoor activities, artistic sculptures, impromptu galleries, and uniquely

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designed seating areas. There are also designated zones for music and fashion, both of which allow for special performances and events. The last zone links Heraa Street with an open museum. Spaces here are shaded by mushroom-like canopies that provide shade for a variety of eateries connected to food trucks, as well as ground boards, art sculptures and exhibiting spaces. The urban spine passes through the entire district with the intent to activate adjacent street fronts and to create a source of connectivity between the recreational appeal of Jeddah’s waterfront and the western more commercial side of Heraa Street.

The Case of Almaadi Street Student Team: Dania Sorour, Zahia Alraddadi, Weam Kufia Al-Maadi Street connects Al Ruwais to Al Hamraa, two districts, located in close proximity to the Corniche in the center of Jeddah. Tracing back the history of Al-Maadi Street, it appears that with expanding population growth, Al-Ruwais expanded towards the north, and a new parallel district was formed under the name of Al Hamraa towards the east. While Al-Ruwais used to be a fishing

village that dates back almost 300 years, and contains mostly single-family houses, Al-Hamraa is a much newer district that serves as a rental community, which is desirable to many foreigners.

In 2012, Al-Andalus highway was constructed and split the two districts apart, no longer allowing for any pedestrian movement between the districts.

In addition, Al Ruwais was also now disconnected from the seashore. This isolation resulted in the emergence of two different social fabrics that could no longer connect with one another. The renovation project of Al-Maadi Street aims to reconnect both communities by transforming the barrier of AlAndalus street into a potential bond. Based on the users’ needs in both districts, a series of interventions were proposed that would encourage a crossover of residents from one district into another. These include a seaside destination with mixed-uses, a supermarket adjoining a plaza and a multifunctional sports field. The streetscape was improved by creating a continuous pedestrian linkage comprised of ample sidewalks, shading devices, and green buffers. Meanwhile, the highway was relocated into an underground tunnel, which permits for a more efficient traffic flow of vehicles and at the same time, ensures pedestrian safety.

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I WATER FRONT

The former industrial wasteland is now a pictureperfect waterfront attraction in the heart of Sydney.

By: Grant Associates

A new harbour cove and boardwalk opens in Barangaroo, Sydney’s new business district.

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Watermans Cove features a crescent shaped cantilevered waterfront walkway to allow people to enjoy the water, creating an entirely new public space on the city’s foreshore.

The amphitheatre-style boardwalk designed by landscape architect Grant Associates, extends out to create a new public pier. Huge sandstone blocks provide informal seating areas and native species trees create a shady backdrop to the open waterfront. A feature Fig tree has been planted on part of the original dockside structure.

Watermans Cove is a key feature of Grant Associates’ designs for two hectares of public realm at Barangaroo South - a 7.5 hectare, mixed-use scheme being developed and delivered by global urban regeneration specialist Lendlease. The scheme aims to revitalise this central part of Sydney’s foreshore, formerly a terminal for containers, into a world-class, vibrant waterfront precinct. The public

realm also provides the waterfront setting to the dramatic Crown Resorts leisure complex designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.

The walkway at Watermans Cove represents a significant step forward of a plan led by the Government of New South Wales to create a continuous walk around Sydney’s harbor foreshore. This section of waterfront has been inaccessible to the public for over 100 years because of its industrial use.

A one-hectare public park called Hickson Park is due to open in December 2020. The park will provide a green link from Sydney’s Central Business District into the heart of Barangaroo’s retail and dining precinct, which is adjacent to the slender new residential towers designed by the acclaimed architect Renzo Piano.

Photo credit: Lendlease and Infrastructure New South Wales (INSW)

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I sustainability

How to protect plant species of conservation interest in urban landscapes?

By: S.N.Talhouk Green spaces in cities form a new type of nature, created from ‘scratch’ or resulting from an irreversible change to natural habitats. Nature in the city is novel because all of its components are ‘artificially’ co-occurring; the soil, the water, the nutrients, and plant species which never existed together in natural habitats grow side by side in the city. Yet, this urban nature may serve as a valuable habitat for rare or endangered plant species, if one can design urban green spaces that are suitable for their growth and reproduction.

This specific question was addressed by Moustapha Itani, an MSc. student enrolled in the ecosystem management program in the department of landscape design and ecosystem management at the American University of Beirut.

The plant species targeted by the study is the rare Lebanese endemic Stock (Mantour – Arabic, Matthiola crassifolia), which has persisted in Beirut city despite the rapid urban expansion. Considering that there are no vegetation description methods adapted to cities, especially when most cities, including Beirut, lack standard habitat classification systems, a combination of two methods normally used when studying natural areas was adopted; floristics (taxonomic identification and species abundance) and physiognomy (plant form, life form, layers, and sizes). The study area was a 6 km long and 2 km wide cape in the city of Beirut.

Field explorations of green spaces in that area showed the Mantour growing along the shore in remnant spiny Mediterranean heaths, screes, sea cliffs, and rocky offshore islands, sandstone formation, limestone formations, and on (stabilized) coastal sand dunes. Inside the city, the plant grew near open sewers, in abandoned dump sites, through cracks in concrete walls and asphalt, on heaps of gravel, in street medians, and even out of the trunks of date and fan palms.

The presence of the Mantour in all these different habitats reflected the species’ ability to grow in disturbed areas. This

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finding complicated the interpretation of the floristic data because it did not clarify which species assemblages offer suitable habitats for the Mantour. In contrast, physiognomic data on life forms and abundance showed a pattern of relations with the target species. However, the physiognomy data did not reveal the identity of the favorable species. The findings became more informative when data from both methods were used in a stepwise approach, first mathematically classifying plants according to form, then sorting according to taxonomic identity. This exercise produced detailed information that pinpointed to urban habitats favorable to the target species.

For example, the plant grew well in green spaces dominated by palms, low-lying succulents, or shrubs with scale-like leaves but it did not persist in green spaces dominated by turf grass, canopy trees, or vegetation that produces a significant litter. In addition to pointing to specific favorable plant associations, the study showed that an exotic and potentially invasive plant species (Carpobrotus edulis) was favorable to the growth of the Mantour. The outcome of the study was a plant selection palette that is not restrictive and does not enforce a native only policy for creating habitats favorable to the rare Lebanese Stock, Mantour. More importantly, we showed how the stepwise method developed in the study can serve as a tool to promote collaboration between plant ecologists, landscape architects, and landscape managers interested in reconciling conservation, socio-behavioral and aesthetic objectives.

Written by S.N. Talhouk. For more information please check: Itani M, Al Zein M, Nasralla N, Talhouk SN (2020) Biodiversity conservation in cities: Defining habitat analogues for plant species of conservation interest. PLoS ONE 15(6): e0220355. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0220355

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I sustainability

New Sustainable Landscaping Boutique Launches Online in the UAE WILDEN Design Creates Sustainable, Naturalistic Gardens Inspired by the Unique Ecosystems of the UAE, Encouraging Residents to Make a Positive Impact on the Planet Will Bennett Founder

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The First Specialised Landscape Magazine in the Middle East

WILDEN Design is a new sustainable landscaping boutique revolutionising the way homeowners and renters in the UAE can regenerate the natural environment around them and inspire a positive impact against climate change. The company, which launched last month, takes clients through an innovative online design process, offering bespoke and pre-planned naturalistic residential landscaping schemes that showcase thoughtful consideration for the local climate through appropriate plant species and materials sourced locally from the GCC. Award-winning Dubai-based landscape architect Will Bennett launched WILDEN Design to encourage people to foster and stimulate natural habitats that can thrive in the UAE, by offering clients inspiring, contemporary gardens created using landscaping practices that have a lower environmental impact.

“There is a huge movement globally to live sustainably and to regenerate landscapes for our shared benefit, and this has really inspired the ethos behind WILDEN Design,” says Founder Will Bennett. “My mission extends beyond designing beautiful gardens — I want to inspire people to connect to the nature that is on their doorstep in the most meaningful way that I can, by understanding the environment around us and by nurturing it. If we all start to take care of the little piece of the planet that we call home, this behaviour will snowball into helping to conserve and improve the wider world around us.”

WILDEN Design’s landscaping practices focus on using locally-sourced and manufactured materials, and plant and grass species that are indigenous to the GCC or from similar arid climates. Such practices help to minimise resources used in construction and maintenance, whilst generating strong, flourishing ecosystems in residential gardens across the Emirates.

Catering to a growing demand for online consultation, WILDEN Design provides clients with a seamless digital design experience through its website www.wildendesign. com, which employs innovative technologies to map out a client’s plot. Customers receive a bespoke landscape design according to their brief and budget or they can choose from a range of pre-designed thematic gardens that are customised to suit the required plot.

WILDEN Design makes well-crafted design an option for everyone and promises inspiring, environmentally-friendly landscapes for all residential outdoor spaces. A number of families and individuals residing in communities such as Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills, The Springs and Jumeirah have already called upon WILDEN Design’s convenient online services to create thoughtful, naturalistic gardenscapes designed with sustainability and biodiversity in mind. A key aim of WILDEN Design is to regenerate networks of wildlife across multiple gardens, and whole developments, encouraging nature to connect throughout the UAE’s residential neighbourhoods, one home at a time.

“I believe that this kind of considerate behaviour — consideration for our planet — starts at home, encouraged also by parents passing such behaviours onto their children. If we can inspire a future generation to find joy in the nature around them — evident in a naturally thriving garden — then our planet will reap the benefits of these seeds that we sow.”

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I gardens

Nature comes to life Italy’s famed Viatori garden is brought to life by international architecture studio LAND using IKON technology.

LAND, the international landscape architecture studio presented its latest project, ISONZO XR in Gorizia, Italy. The project is the result of a three year-long CariGO GREEN3 program, promoted by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Gorizia. LAND worked with IKON, a leading innovation company and with the contribution of Intesa Sanpaolo, to enhance the province of Gorizia through innovative and sustainable interventions.

Gorizia’s Viatori garden created by Luciano Viatori was donated to the Foundation in 2014 and contains an abundant and extensive botanical heritage overlooking the city, its hills and the Isonzo river.

The new vision proposed in the project aims to make the garden a touch point to expand the vision to embrace the city, its cultural heritage, slow tourism and increase the value of the landscape along the Isonzo.

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In this way, the garden is placed in a network with the green heritage consisting of the other parks and gardens of Gorizia, and at the same time becomes the bridgehead for a series of circuits along the Isonzo, from Gorizia to the sea.

A botanical and immersive multimedia narrative route has also been designed inside the garden to enable you to get to know the most decorative and significant plant species and, at the same time, to listen to stories associated with the personality of its creator, Lucio Viatori, and with research, experiments and journeys that led to the realisation of the park. It is through this content that the unique poetics with which the professor shaped this extraordinary location are revealed.

The route sets out from the area of the belvedere, descends to the intermediate level of the garden, characterised by the presence of the waterlily pond, goes between the large

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flowerbeds called “aiuole dell’aquila” [flowerbeds of the eagle] (predominantly magnolias), “delle rose” [of the roses] and “dei cornus florida” [of the flowering dogwood]. It then continues towards “il quadrato” [the square], with hemerocallis and azaleas.

Then the long section begins that runs along the lowest part, facing south-west: the so-called “La Groina” route, characterised by abundant collections of magnolias and then of azaleas. From here you reach “la valletta” [the valley], facing north, with its abundant sequence of hydrangeas, magnolias and azaleas. At this point you climb back up to the highest tier of terracing, that of Viatori’s residence, you walk along the avenue of entry and then the whole ring around the large lawn, characterised by the presence of “tondos” of peonies.

The route is dotted with often highly rare and unusual tree specimens that, together with the numerous flowering

plants concentrated in the flowerbeds, making the garden burst with colours and presenting itself as a unique botanical and human experience.

“The immersive and interactive experience of nature in the Digital Landscape is an opportunity to create awareness and experiment concrete actions towards a sustainable development model in line with the 17 SDGs of the UN Agenda, combining the challenge of climate change with regenerative development projects” explained Matteo Pedaso, Strategic Planner Director and Partner of LAND Italia.

CREDITS ISONZO XR PROJECT Project: LAND Italia Client: Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Gorizia

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I award

UAE students win world’s largest student architecture competition

Two recent graduates from the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) have been awarded the grand prize in architecture for this year’s Inspireli Awards, the world’s largest global competition in architecture, urban design and landscape, and interior design.

Mariam Jacob and Nada Khalaf were among seven architecture students from CAAD to have been shortlisted for the award and were selected by a jury of 500 architects from 99 countries. Their achievement will be celebrated in a virtual ceremony on November 4, 2020.

The two winners worked under Associate Professor and AUS alumnus Faysal Tabbarah to create Thin Topograhies: Enhancing Food Production in Marakkech. Their project aims to reinterpret food waste and uncover the potential of discarded organic material by repurposing it for consumption, redefining it for material construction, and encouraging a sustainable lifestyle within Marrakesh, Morocco.

The project was part of the student’s final semester of work at AUS, produced amidst the challenges of the sudden transition to remote learning earlier in 2020. Khalaf said the Inspireli award has allowed her to appreciate the work in a new way.

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Since her recent graduation, Khalaf has been working as a junior architect at iMaker Group, a Dubai-based architecture and interior design firm, while Jacob is currently participating in Architecture for Humanity, an inspirational placement program coordinated by the Italian-based Young Architects Academy.

The program has connected Jacob with some of the leading names in design and broadened her understanding of designing socially relevant architecture in an emergency context.

The two other shortlisted projects from CAAD feature architectural designs for sites in Sharjah and New York, highlighting the students’ ability to design for diverse environments and contexts, and addressing issues such as population transience, environmental sustainability and building self-sustaining communities. The shortlisted students included Farah Ahmed, Mary Krajekian, Aya Rahmy, Alina Sebastian and Rim Sibai under the mentorship of Associate Professor Jason Carlow and Professor of Practice Igor Peraza.

A gallery of the students’ work, along with other finalist projects, can be viewed online at www.inspireli.com.

I Book review

Material landscapes explores narrative, sustainability, and invention Award-Winning Surfacedesign Conveys Ethos and Approach to Connecting People to Place

Surfacedesign: Material Landscapes The Monacelli Press (2019) 208 pages; flexibound; $50 ISBN: 978-1-58093-552-4 Review copies available on request.

“Fair warning to future Surfacedesign clients and design collaborators: Surfacedesign is going to push you,” writes Alan Maskin, a principal of Olson Kundig Architects, in the foreword to Surfacedesign: Material Landscapes (The Monacelli Press). “But their ideas, enthusiasm, humor, and interests have never limited them to working within the boundaries of their specific discipline.”

The first book on this award-winning landscape architecture and urban design firm reveals thoughtful parks, plazas, waterfronts, civic landscapes, and private gardens that convey beauty, authenticity, and inventiveness. An interview by landscape theorist, author, and teacher Anita Berrizbeitia with founding partners James A. Lord, FASLA, and Roderick Wyllie, ASLA, investigates the roots of the firm’s design ethos stemming from deep beliefs in the power of narrative to imbue landscape with meaning, to express the history of place, and, most important, to connect people to the places they live, work, travel, and play.

A studio conversation led by partner Geoff Di Girolamo, ASLA, Assoc. AIA, with several Surfacedesign team members further defines and refines the firm’s approach to materials, gesture, and sustainability, as well as the inner workings of this investigative, non-hierarchical, collaborative practice. Twenty-five projects—ranging in scale and complexity from Auckland International Airport to a private garden in the heart of San Francisco—are beautifully photographed (mostly by Marion Brenner), displaying the sensuous inventiveness of the work.

San Francisco-based Surfacedesign, Inc., is an awardwinning landscape architecture and urban design firm that collaborates with institutions, architects, homeowners, community groups, and city agencies. Partners James A. Lord, FASLA, Roderick Wyllie, ASLA, and Geoff Di Girolamo, ASLA, Assoc. AIA, lead a multidisciplinary team of landscape architects, urban designers, and architects to provide innovative design solutions. Winner of the 2017 National Design Award for Landscape Architecture (given by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum), Surfacedesign focuses on cultivating a sense of connection to the built and natural worlds, pushing people to engage with the landscape in new ways.

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I new ongoing projects middleeasttenders.com

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Restoration of the Plant Cover in Khabari Al Awazem Reserve (One of Environment Rehabilitation Projects).

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Restoration of the Plant Cover.

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Designing, Developing and Implementation of Red Palm Weevil Data Collection Application.

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Rehabilitation of Agricultural Terraces in the Asir Region, The Third Phase.

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Maintenance of Gardens, Parks and Irrigation Networks (Operation and Maintenance of the Secretariats Nurseries).

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Project of faculty management and landscaping services for 3 years.

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West Bay North Development

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Planting Windbreaks with the Implementation of an Irrigation Network in Al-Kharj Governorate.

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Taif Municipality (Saudi Arabia)

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Parks Restore & Rehabilitate

A Project to Restore and Rehabilitate Parks (Dalgan, Al-Maski, Al-Jarrah and Al-Hadba)

Ministry of Environment, Water & Agriculture (Saudi Arabia)

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11/18/2020

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