Vision Magazine Online Issue 1

Students Win Acclaim
for Green Fareej Design
The UPC Takes Part in
The Abu Dhabi Award
The Urban Planning Council (UPC) has introduced the
Abu Dhabi Award for Organisational Excellence.
Launched in 2007, the Award invites all government
organisations to participate in the initiative to drive
organisational excellence and improvement. The
Award will allocate scores on the contribution of
UPC staff across all its departments. A newly created
‘excellence team’ will support the UPC’s Award
submission in the summer.
The winners will be announced in late 2010.
However, all award nominees will benefit from
feedback from the judges on how their organisation
can change and improve their performance.
Students of Ajman University of Science and
Technology (AUST) have been announced as
winners of the first Estidama Fareej Design
Contest, a competition jointly created by the
Urban Planning Council (UPC) and Abu Dhabibased
private property developer Aldar, at the
Greenbuild International Conference in Arizona,
USA.
Over 100 university students from architecture, urban
planning, engineering and other related degree courses took
on the challenge to design a sustainable, energy efficient
Emirati villa that could be integrated into a traditional ‘fareej’
neighbourhood plan.
‘Fareej’ is the traditional Arabic neighbourhood design.
The pattern is based on the traditional organisation of
Emirati settlements and reflects the importance of family
relationships.
AUST’s winning design, entitled ‘Wind Catcher’ incorporated
a modern take on the traditional ‘Wind Tower’ design
element which is prevalent in traditional Middle Eastern
homes.
UPC Undertakes Baniyas
Public Consultation
The Urban Planning Council (UPC) has held a
number of community events in Baniyas and
South Wathba to ensure the views of the local
community are incorporated into the South
Wathba/Baniyas Revitalisation Masterplan.
The community events form part of the UPC’s Public
Involvement Plan, which is committed to including
the local residents within the planning process for all
revitalisation masterplans.
In Baniyas and South Wathba, the community
actvities have included Community Majlis events
in August and September 2009, during which
consultants and planners from the UPC met with
community leaders to identify issues within the area.
This was followed in October by inviting community
The judging panel, made up of expert representatives from
the UPC, Aldar and Masdar, along with two prominent
Emirati planners from X-Architects and dxb.lab, were
extremely impressed by AUST’s design.
“The incredible response to the contest from the students
is a clear indication of Estidama’s bright prospects in the
future,” said H.E. Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager of the
UPC. “It is a perfect example of the support our mission
enjoys among our next generation of young Emiratis
who will certainly have a key role to play in the ongoing
implementation of Estidama.”
members to discuss any problems, solutions and
future dreams for the region. Additional events are
due to be held in the coming months.
The UPC will continue to work on the creation of the
Baniyas/South Wathba Revitalisation Masterplan and,
once approved, will report back to the community.
The UPC is committed to listening to the public and
involving them throughout the planning stages,
highlighting the importance the UPC places on local
knowledge. Through its various Public Involvement
Plans, the UPC aims to reach out to the public as it
creates masterplans for communities across Abu
Dhabi Emirate.
ISSUE ONE - VISION MAGAZINE 7