“Commended for its novel, alternative approach to property development” – Holcim Awards Jury

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    Project entry 2008 Africa Middle East - "Xeritown responsive urban planning strategy, Dubai, UAE": Active urban edge: architecture, infrastructure and landscape come together defining a space of intensified urban life.

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    Members of the winning team of the Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize 2008 for "Xeritown responsive urban planning strategy, Dubai, UAE" (l-r): Sabine Müller, Andreas Quednau, Ahmed Al Ali, Farid A.

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    (l-r): Jury members Rachid Benmokhtar Benabdellah and Nina Maritz present a Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize 2008 for "Xeritown responsive urban planning strategy, Dubai, UAE" to team member Ahmed

Xeritown is a mixed-use property development at an urban scale located on the outskirts of Dubai. The proposal respects its site-context of desert hot and arid climate, while at the same time demonstrating lessons and principles out of the rich tradition of city patterns and dwellings in the Middle East. Most projects in the area consider the site as tabula rasa on which to impose an artificial urban context.

Last updated: June 19, 2008 Johannesburg, South Africa

In a radical departure from the conventional approach, Xeritown integrates the desert and local climate by working with the natural environment instead of against it. The master plan relies on the clustering of building volumes within the less productive areas of the site, thus sparing the more productive zones to support the complementary landscaping.

The traditional settlement principles of narrow internal streets providing shading from the hot sun, intimate courtyards and perforated walls have been systematically adapted and optimized. The project is commended for its novel, alternative approach to property development within the booming economy of Dubai while remaining sensitive to context issues such as topography, sun, wind and socio-cultural priorities of the residents.