What is URBAN DESIGN

What is Urban Design?

Urban design is the process of arranging the physical setting for life in cities, towns and villages, in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It involves the design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes, and establishing the processes that make successful development possible. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has been linked to emergent disciplines such as landscape urbanism.

Urban plan for Russian city - Samara

BDP completes masterplan for Russian city

 

BDP has completed a masterplan study for Samara, the sixth largest city in Russia, providing the services of masterplanner, architect, landscape architect and sustainability consultant.
The Samara Center sits at the heart of the city and occupies 12 hectares of former industrial land.
Driven by the provision of 5,000 apartments, the scheme also contains a kindergarten, retail and leisure facilities, mid-rise office buildings plus a hotel and central administration building.
The masterplan involves a series of landscaped courtyards focusing on a central park, and the creation of two new civic spaces.
BDP was supported by WSP  and cost consultant Davis Langdon.

Musheireb MEGA project, Doha, Qatar 2011

   

The construction of the Msheireb Downtown Doha project began in 2010 and the development will be completed in five phases through 2016. 

MSHEIREB PROPERTIES’s first project, ‘Musheireb’, is a 35-hectare site which will transform the architectural centre of the capital city, recreating a way of living that is rooted in Qatari culture. This project will be recognised worldwide as defining a new architectural language for the 21st century.

The Musheireb project is the culmination of many months of research and collaboration between some of the world’s brightest planners and architects to find a way to express the rich architectural heritage of Qatar in a new and innovative manner, relevant to the way people live today. Below we look at the new architectural language developed by MSHEIREB PROPERTIES for Musheireb, as its first signature project. Qatar has a rich architectural history. MSHEIREB PROPERTIES’s new architectural language draws inspiration from our ancestors, who built structures that respected the topography of the region, made the best use of local natural resources and encouraged community living. The primary consideration of Musheireb is to build places that work with Qatar’s unique environment and culture. MSHEIREB PROPERTIES has completed a comprehensive study on what makes that Qatari architecture distinct and has developed a new vernacular for Doha’s future projects. In the Musheireb, MSHEIREB PROPERTIES will build sustainable, innovative communities that enrich our individual lives, promote environmentally friendly living, and rediscover the heritage and culture that makes a place unique. The project Masterplan observes a series of sustainable design objectives to make optimum use of microclimatic effects, to enhance thermal comfort, ensure maximisation of water and energy efficiency, promote sustainable waste management and reduce carbon emissions across the site. The primary objective of the Musheireb project is to reverse the pattern of development and growth of Doha in recent decades which has tended towards isolated land uses with urban sprawl and heavy reliance on car transport. Focus will be on reducing car use and congestion, while improving connectivity across the wider city area. An underground basement extending over the entire area will accommodate approximately 13,700 car park spaces, will effectively remove vehicles from the streets around Musheireb, reclaiming the outdoor spaces for the community to enjoy.

SUSTAINABILITY Since the discovery of oil and gas in the 1930s, the small fishing village of Doha has grown to create a sprawling city. Greater prosperity and the rise in private car use have fuelled suburban expansion which has weakened the city's centre of gravity. The Musheireb will revitalise the historic core of Doha itself, giving families the opportunity to live in beautiful homes and enjoy the benefits of a strong, well-served local community. ENRICHMENT The car-dominated lifestyle and isolated social norm of the suburbs will be replaced by beautifully designed and compact city neighborhoods where family homes will be within easy walking distance of schools, shops, public squares, mosques and other cultural activities and the majority of vehicles will be below ground.