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WADI 4, RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
Access to the site is from Wadi Hanifa Road, where the main site entry is located. The primary vehicular route initially follows the winding line of the Wadi as a two- way/four-lane Avenue amidst luscious new planting of mature trees. The vision is of the Wadi as an oasis of green contrasting with the surrounding cliffs’ arid landscape. At the highest end of the Wadi, where the hills start, the Entrance Avenue becomes a two-way/four-lane Boulevard. The Boulevard is tree-lined as is the island dividing the two-way traffic.
The critical moment in the development of the masterplan results from the formation of a network of primary and secondary routes through the site. This network establishes the scale, grain and connectivity of local neighbourhoods.
Housing plots give scale to the neighbourhood block and introduce an element of variation and change. A network of continuous pedestrian routes is superimposed onto the network of vehicular routes, making it possible for the entire development to be traversed on foot or by cycle. All neighbourhoods are spatially discreet yet interconnecting through the central Boulevard. Daily access to the neighbourhoods is via the Boulevard and the secondary routes of the neighbourhoods.
The linear nature of the site has resulted in the making of linear development. It is essential to emphasize progressive scaling down of the elements that make up the community, from the primary Avenue of the Wadi and the Boulevard to the secondary routes and the pedestrian paths; and respectively, from the village to the neighbourhoods to the residential blocks, arriving finally at the house plots.
The residential neighbourhoods also provide substantial flexibility in the housing plots’ size, since individual plots can be combined into larger housing plots without redesigning the masterplan’s vehicular routes or the infrastructural services of the masterplan. Such flexibility, as and when required, ensures diversity, natural change and adaptability. The scheme studied provides 251 plots. Ultimately, the number of plots will depend on sales research and the business plan.
CONSTRAINTS & OPPORTUNITIES
PRIMARY ROUTES
SECONDARY ROUTES
PEDESTRIAN ROUTES
NEIGHBOURHOODS
LANDMARK BUILDINGS
SECURITY
HOUSING PLOTS