Creating resilient cities for a growing population requires changing our perspectives and shifting our minds to learn from the past and adapt for the future. Foster + Partners (F+P) is a global design studio for sustainable architecture, urban design and engineering that is redefining how we want to live, work and play in one of their largest urban design projects -- South Sabah Al-Ahmad, Kuwait, a blueprint for a new city for 280,000 residents, with an extensive open space network and a multi-layered public transport system. Using ArcGIS CityEngine, advanced analytics, visualizations and stories, F+P is shaping the cities of the future.
Foster + Partners (F+P) is a multi-disciplinary design and architecture studio headquartered in London, UK that designs infrastructure, mixed-use developments, workplaces and neighborhoods. Using technology, they help clients create a visionary experience that they want to see.
For Foster + Partners, understanding the geography of cities and the forces that shape them is important when designing a new project. Their design process is an iterative process across architects, engineers, social scientists and more from many different disciplines.
One of their latest projects is designing an entirely new 24-square-mile city in Kuwait. When complete, South Sabah Al-Ahmad, Kuwait will be a vibrant community for 280,000 residents, with 145,000 jobs and 20,000 new homes designed with sustainability at its core.
Analyzing the layouts of other cities in a library akin to the Urban Observatory, F+P finds relationships in traffic movement, walkability and job clusters that can inform the design and development of a new, livable and sustainable city.
The project team brought together designers and transport engineers and used ArcGIS CItyEngine during the design process resulting in a street network that connects the neighborhoods, reducing the total amount of road space from the typically allocated 40% to 30%, and providing more public space for future residents to enjoy.
To create a more livable and sustainable city, the team designed ample open spaces that can improve air quality, reduce the effects of heat islands and promote social interactions.
Design takes into account the region’s climate, creating shade areas from buildings and natural vegetation and canopy structures intentionally placed to respond to the unique challenges of the geography.
Exporting the CityEngine scene to a web scene or the Unreal game engine, F+P created a virtual environment that simulates the vibrancy of South Sabah Al-Ahmad, even before its infrastructure is complete.