Location: Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Client: The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, contracted through Euasia Limited (Hong Kong) and Wilbur Smith Associates (USA)
Urban planning and urban design of Al Mutrafiah district in Al Jubail. The plan area covers 1089 ha, divided into four sectors. Upon completion Al Mutrafiah will provide some 9,300 new housing units, both apartments and villas, serving a population of 47,600. The primary planning objective was to accommodate the design population within a large area while providing a neighbourhood structure that gives a sense of place and an urban quality that instils a feeling of belonging to its future population.
Challenges comprise the provision of schools, community facilities, open space and amenity areas in both an efficient and design-oriented manner.
Solutions include the development of two sector centres with large multi-purpose civic squares, dual use of sports facilities for the community and schools and a network of landscaped walkways where residents can walk to the neighbourhood centres. These centres contain daily mosques, kindergartens, small stores and sporting facilities and are at a distance of not more than 300m to all residents.
Additional innovative solutions include the development of a transition zone to the future city centre and design solutions for a freeway through the site that reduce severance, visual impacts and noise pollution to Mutrafiah’s residents.