Architect：Sparch Architects

Location：Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Project Year：2008

Category：Housing

Sparch’s philosophy recognizes that we as a world community generally live within the built environment. The quality of the design of the built environment therefore affects the quality of our existence. As we envision ourselves part of nature, aesthetics are a necessary component to environmentalism. The aesthetic quality of our environment will determine success and relevance to our respective cultures. The connection between culture, art and landscape has the ability to evoke and embrace human activity and as such, forms an invaluable component to any scheme aspiring to enhance and express the quality of specific human cultures.

DESERT OASIS According to the goals defined in the concept master plan designed by Sparch and further developed by Sasaki, Rihan Heights aims to establish an exciting contrast between dry desert, succulent planting and lush, vegetated components. The underlying motivation for this differentiation is to relate the landscape design to be recognizable to the natural environment of Abu Dhabi as well as to reduce areas with high irrigation needs. The master plan identifies all landscapes, wrapping the edges of the individual development parcels as dry ‘desert’ zones. In addition to the immediate pedestrian exposure to the landscape, its perception from a bird’s eye perspective will play a key role in the experience of the landscaped development. Vertical skygarden slots are an integral part of each residential tower, wherein it creates strong graphic patterns which are interesting to look at from above.

Sensitive and conservative use of the precious resource of water is a driving principle in the design. The provision and use of natural shade providing canopy trees and other vegetation is desirable to improve the micro climate in distinct areas of the parcel, and turn it into a livable and walkable environment. Since the local landscape does not provide large canopy trees, suggested vegetation will derive from subtropical and Mediterranean plant palettes, which are climatically closest to the area and thus have low irrigation demands.

THE SLOPE-SCAPE Rihan Heights comprises a series of buildings in a garden; that respond through their form, location, climate and use. The artificial sculpted topography provides the necessary energy for the emergence of a unique form and building plan. The duality of the design approach is that the architecture is impressive and iconic without losing its openness and freshness, and without being intimidating; international yet responsive to its local context. Because of timesaving considerations dealing with the high groundwater table, parking levels are built as an on-ground podium structure. The three-storey podium is wrapped with a unique landscape, and a combination of tilted plains of varying texture which enfolds the podium horizontally. The slope-scape fulfills a series of tasks, wherein it provides visually and micro-climatically pleasant and inviting setting for the pedestrian and vehicular approach to the development parcel. The design faces challenges with a horizontally folded landscape. With each fold varying on its way around the parcel in width, height and inclination, the slope-scape represents an architectural interpretation of the local desert morphology and geology.

BUILDING TRANSPARENCY The residential towers are rooted to the landscape podium adjacent to the clubhouse and other communal facilities. These embrace the podium landscape, creating a private urban garden for the residents, combined with the Villas to provide a variety of apartment types from single bedroom apartments to 3-bedroom units, all of which have either garden views, a view to the seafront or the city. The building plan at grade rationalizes the integrated parking and community facilities into a private courtyard space that offers the resident a private sense of arrival at street level that is calm and well landscaped. The courtyard gives direct access to the apartment tower lobbies and is in part fronted by a terrace of villas that help moderate the scale of the space and creates a ‘mews’ type environment. The clubhouse with its unique shape inspired by the local environment represents the iconic centre to the community. Communal facilities line the plaza between the two drop off zones, which slopes at the landscape deck offering a resident gym, crèche and other communal spaces, all of which have aspect to a wooden deck terrace which continues towards the pool to the east.

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