Menu
ALNAMA is planned to become a smart zero carbon destination. The city will promote sustainable living in a 10 square kilometer community with various hubs including residential, educational, commercial, tourism and medical.
Derived from the Arabic word “thrive”, Riyadh’s smart city is planned to provide 11,000 residential units for a population of 44,000 people. The 1,000 hectare development will create 10,000 jobs in various sectors including green-tech industries to create a green circular economy for the city.
The project is masterminded by URB and provides the highest standards of social, environmental & economic sustainability.
The masterplan was primarily designed using passive design techniques such as orientation, density and form which require the least financial investment yet provide the highest environmental gains. The city of the future will use state-of-the-art technology and active strategies to provide the highest standards of living through its smart city grid.
Various hubs will transform the city into a unique destination as well as an attraction for ecotourists and medical tourists. The green-tech hub will provide an innovative ecosystem for urban-tech companies related to food, energy, water, waste, mobility & building materials.
CEO of URB, Baharash Bagherian, who has masterminded designs of various sustainable cities including recently launched projects such as The Sustainable City in Yiti, The Sustainable City Yas Island, Nexgen Sustainable City and many more yet to be revealed, explains ALNAMA as the next evolution in smart sustainable cities.
“ALNAMA aims to be the next generation of self-sufficient city, producing all the city’s renewable energy needs, as well as the resident’s caloric food intake on site. Biosaline agriculture, productive gardens, wadis and carbon-rich habitats are key features of the development’s innovative & resilient landscape design.”
“ALNAMA’s masterplan and landscape are designed as multifunctional holistic solutions to enhance the social, environmental, and economic sustainability of the city. ALNAMA is planned through the design of the city’s landscape, rather than the design of its buildings. This creates an urbanism that is more socially inclusive, more economically valuable, and more sensitive to the environment.”
The landscape is designed to provide a variety of spaces and activities that promote social interaction. It is also designed as a multifunctional terrestrial network with various utilities, promoting biodiversity whilst helping to also create a “cooler” environment. The masterplan was optimized in density to maximise the greenspace ratio whilst creating a liveable & car-free city.
The city will become an edutainment attraction by integrating all the sustainability elements of the city as features in the design, which will also promote a sustainable lifestyle experience for the residents. The utility park is also a key educational tool for children, which is adjacent to the educational hub. The park will also feature state-of-the-art technologies in urban-tech that address the critical food-energy-water nexus.
Eco-friendly glamping lodges, eco resorts as well as a nature conservation centre are key components of the hospitality hub, which will promote ecotourism. An autism village, wellness centre & clinics within the medical hub will promote medical tourism.
Ultimately the city will become a work, live & visit destination where people, planet and profit can thrive in balance. It will become a new benchmark model for future cities to be planned to promote greener economies that center around food, water, energy and waste.
KEY FACTS
The project is planned to follow the highest sustainability standards by providing multifunctional holistic solutions to address all the three key pillars of sustainability; social, economic and environmental. The aim is to create a zero carbon smart city that takes a balanced approach between these three pillars.
A sustainability brief was created for the project with targets and initiatives, which was divided into categories to create a unique sustainability DNA. Some of these categories included water, energy, food, waste, mobility, building materials, health & wellbeing, pollution, ecology, green & blue infrastructure etc.. The integration of all these sustainability elements into the design at the early stages helped to achieve the highest level of social, environmental and economic sustainability.
Key planning principles at the early stages was one of the key drivers of creating ALNAMA smart city. Basic design decisions such as orientation, density and form provided the biggest environmental gains, yet these required the least financial investment. Thus at the early stages of the project we were able to reduce a large amount of energy demand with little cost.
The project was further optimised using various tools, methods and analysis such as energy modelling, microclimate analysis, solar radiation analysis, daylight simulations/ analysis and glare control, water efficiency, water recycling, life cycle costing analysis, waste management and waste recycling analysis, sustainable landscaping and urban drainage analysis.
Ultimately, the sustainability brief with clear targets and initiatives which was created for the project helped guide the design in the pursuit of the sustainability goals to create a new model of Zero Carbon Smart City.
GREEN HEART
The landscape is the heart and social glue to the entire development connecting residents and workers to all the amenities through its green arteries within minutes. The multifunctional landscape is designed to maximize the promotion of biodiversity, health, wellbeing, whilst creating a vibrant, resilient social neighborhood.
ORIENTATION
The planning of the city is optimized through orientation to reduce energy demand whilst providing optimal shading for walkways within residential clusters as well as optimum wind flows.
DENSITY
The highest density is optimized to be adjacent to the heart of the development. This will reduce walking distances for majority of population whilst promoting a more inclusive and connected community. The mixuse areas are also strategically located to reduce the walking distances for majority of the residents.
WATER SENSITIVE URBAN DESIGN
The landscape is integrated with water sensitive urban design to create a resilient and liveable city. The wadi and arteries are an integrated system that work as a network for storm water management as both retention and infiltration.
GREEN SPINE
A green spine wraps the entire city with an integrated network of biophilic systems which allow nature to thrive whilst promoting resilience through various strategies. A green industrial hub and future expansion zone are located within the green spine.
FEW+W NEXUS
Scalable farms with high tech biosaline agricultural, energy, water & waste solutions that address the critical Food-Energy-Water + Waste Nexus are integrated within the green spine. Multifunctional Biodomes are also a key feature and located at the heart of the project.
CAR FREE ZONE
The design maximizes the landscape ratio to create a walkable city with limited vehicular access. The increase of landscape area will promote social activities, biodiversity and microclimate optimisation which will also mitigate effects of rising temperatures and urban heat islands.
WALKABILITY
Primary and secondary walking networks are well shaded and connected with other modes of green transport to offer residents the safest, most convenient and enjoyable travel to every aspect of the city. ALNAMA smart city is designed and optimised in planning to be the most walkable city on earth.
LIMITED VEHICULAR ACCESS
Vehicular access is limited to the ring road and solar car park farms which are optimised to further reduce the walking distances for residents to their homes. Electric charging stations and reduced energy costs will promote the use of electric vehicles.
CYCLING + E-BUGGY
Alternative modes of transport such as cycling and electric buggies are integrated into the city, which is planned as primary and secondary hierarchy networks. These will give residents the most convenient, safe and carbon-emissions-free transport experience.
A-EV SHUTTLE
An autonomous E.V shuttle system will provide residents and visitors with convenient shuttle service and are well connected to all the hubs & facilities within the city. Each E.V shuttle stop is adjacent to a cycling and buggy station. The project also features an electric park & ride system for visitors.
DEDICATED TRACKS
The city provides 37 km of dedicated running and cycling tracks which are continuous and are integrated within the landscape design. A dedicated 7.5 km loop of equestrian track also connects with the equestrian center.
ALNAMA Smart City is planned through its landscape which plays the most important role in the entire project. As a Biophlilic city, the landscape design will provide various environmental, social and economic benefits for its residents such as reducing air pollution, promoting biodiversity, managing storm water, increasing social interaction and connecting the community together. ALNAMA also uses nature as a multi-functional natural system complimented by green and blue infrastructure.
As the heart and arteries to the entire project, the landscape will help create a carbon sink and minimise the carbon footprint whilst promoting a healthy living environment and enhancing local air quality. The car-free strategy and alternative modes of transport will further help reduce carbon emission.
The design was optimised to increase the portion of greenspace through optimisation of urban planning strategies such as density, land use distribution, mobility & building typologies. More than 65% of the land area is dedicated to open spaces, such as productive landscapes, non-productive landscapes, permeable pavements, sports fields, courtyards etc.
ALNAMA retains and enhances biodiversity, resilience & liveability through its unique terrestrial environment. Rain gardens & bioretention areas are low-maintenance and require no irrigation, yet reduce the volume of runoff whilst creating habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. Low-maintenance landscape, xeriscape and drought-tolerant planting will offer significantly less water consumption.
The landscape will also create a “cooler” community by lowering peak temperature within the city and mitigating the Urban Heat Islands. Trees and plants are chosen on their ability to be drought tolerant, provide shade, fix nitrogen in the soil, produce food and create habitat.
Ultimately the landscape has multiple uses. It connects residents with the various hubs within the city whilst serving as an educational tool by integrating and highlighting all the sustainability elements within the city.
Ultimately the landscape has multiple uses. It connects residents with the various hubs within the city whilst serving as an educational tool by integrating and highlighting all the sustainability elements within the city.
ALNAMA Smart City has the capacity to maintain the same level of quality of life, should there be any future shocks or stresses to its environment. The project integrates blue and green infrastructure to create a resilient and liveable city.
The landscape is designed with large collection of engineered natural areas to provide variation of habitats for wildlife, rain water harvesting, mitigating flooding, better air quality and cleaner water.
To create a resilient urban environment, Alnama adopts holistic water sensitive urban design [WSUD] strategies which brings many benefits to its residents as well as the environment such as minimising discharge of stormwater, protecting and enhancing ecological assets and providing high quality of life to residents in any event. Constructed wadis, site topography, rainwater gardens, bioswales & permeable paving are just a few examples.
As a sponge city, ALNAMA makes the most use of any rainwater, reusing this free natural resource by storing, cleaning and harvesting this overlooked commodity.
The landscape focuses on water-sensitive urban design, through careful selection of plants and trees as well as the employing of smart irrigation systems and water retention strategies.
The Wadi plays a crucial role in stormwater management as both retention and infilteration system. This open channel is planned at the heart of the project, with the topography engineered to allow for runoff to be collected by the arteries which also features WSUD. The topography allows for the runoff to be directed naturally to the wadi. This holistic integrated natural systems provide for flow conveyance, sedimentation, infilteration and evapo-transpiration.
The mobility strategy, land use densification and landscape design strategy have created a cooler city though the generation of a micro climate within the development. The green spine that wraps around the city as well as the stabilization of soil with vegetation will ensure minimal dust concentrations inside the city.
Scalable food, energy and water farms, bioswales, planter boxes, rain gardens, permeable pavements, green roofs, efficient zero-waste management system are all fully integrated and are just some of the multifaceted solutions that are working together as a complete network to create one of the most resilient cities on earth.
ALNAMA is a productive city incorporating many different urban farming methods such as community gardens, bio domes, aquaponics, vertical farms, biosaline agriculture and world’s first scalable FEW+W Nexus farms.
The landscape is productive and features community gardens to promote social engagement and are great educational tools for children. Beyond creating an abundance of food for people, urban farming promotes healthy eating and healthy lifestyles, it inspires and educates youth, whilst bringing the community together. Urban farming is thus the social glue, increasing community cohesion and social interaction.
ALNAMA will also feature the world’s first scalable food-energy-water & waste farms which are linked to one another. The city also recycles rejected brine water from desalination to farm fish and halophytic plants like Quinoa and Salicornia. The city will produce healthy and nutritious food without a negative impact for the environment to promote sustainability, nutrition and food security.
Urban farming will strengthen the resilience of the city whilst providing youth with a sense of stewardship and better understanding of the food system.
Residents will receive their caloric intake from variation of locally grown produce including fruits, vegetables, leafy and micro-greens, mushrooms, poultry, fish, dairy etc. The city will feature innovative solutions of advancing the global transition to sustainable food systems.
Ultimately vertical farming and the latest agri-tech will provide higher yields and reductions in groundwater contamination from agriculture runoffs. Exponential water savings and increased nutritional density are also some additional benefits of vertical farming.
The city has integrated technology such as Information Communication Technologies [ICT] and the Internet of Things [IoTs] into its hard and soft infrastructures. These technologies will transform the cities networks and services into a more efficient, intelligent and collaborative ecosystem.
At a city level, ALNAMA has a smart grid strategy in various layers such as energy, water, food, waste, air quality, health & wellbeing to provide resources more efficiently and equitably to residents. E.V charging stations, self driving cars & solar farms are just some of the components that will improve connectivity, sustainability, and livability.
ALNAMA will import yet export more renewable energy through a two-way grid system, thus creating a green economy for the city. Home energy-management solutions are enabled with transmission and distribution by the city’s smart solar grid systems. Homes are equipped with smart meters, network and security architectures, switching products and routing to create a renewable solar distributed generation grid.
ALNAMA also embeds sensors within its infrastructure which are connected to the IoTs and can communicate in real time to various components within the city. For example, waste can be collected upon receiving automatic notification that they are full. Real-time user data can be analysed to provide an estimate of the day and time of future waste collections.
Smart water systems will reduce resident water consumption. All bathrooms, kitchens, water features, irrigation systems and facilities will integrate highly efficient water saving technologies. Drinking water is also produced on-site through solar powered air-to-water generators.
At a building level, sensors play a key role. Indoor lighting and temperature can automatically be adjusted based on various variables. These variables include the number of occupants in a room, the time of day as well as exterior weather and light conditions. All buildings will have embedded sensors to detect motion, temperature, noise, moisture, fire, smoke etc… to provide real-time data and help improve operational efficiency, safety and security.
The city also adopts the world’s first high-tech scalable FEW+W smart urban farms which use saline water. In addition to biosaline agriculture, the city provides vertical farms, aquaponics, fish and dairy farms which will be enabled by data science, IoT, AI, and automation and are able to produce higher quality foods that are locally grown.
As a smart city, ALNAMA uses various technologies and will support start-ups and businesses in its green-tech hub to close the loop between food, water, energy, and waste. The institute will become the brain of the city and the educational tool for educating business on sustainable practices and to promote a bottom-up entrepreneurship. With conference and training facilities, the institute will also promote sustainability within the region to accelerate the transition towards sustainable development.
Ultimately ALNAMA will become a living lab, constantly monitoring the services & resources, using Artificial Intelligence for predictive analysis, piloting new innovations as well analysing user feedback in the city to evolve into the smartest city on earth.
ALNAMA smart city will promote ecotourism to bring many benefits to the community whilst also enhancing travelers experience. As an edge-less city surrounded by a buffer of nature reserve and with hospitality components such as a 5star Eco resort and eco lodges as well as a nature conversation centre and an ecotourism visitor centre, ALNAMA will become a unique destination for travellers.
Sustainable tourism will increase employment and provide long-term income-earning opportunities for the community. The conservation centre will conserve natural heritage, biodiversity and local ecosystems with an aim to provide the same level of benefits to future generations. The green-tech hub will empower local businesses towards green practices to enable the growth of a sustainable travel & tourism sector which is growing faster than the global economy and most other major industries.
The ecotourism visitor centre will monitor the impacts associated with tourism activities within the city, as well as providing preventive measures without compromising traveler’s satisfaction. The centre will also educate travellers as well as school children on minimsing their impact on the environment, thus will become an edutainment attraction.