AT THE HEART OF SUSTAINABLE PUTTING PEOPLE DESIGN PRACTICES

BY ELIE MRAD, CHIEF ARCHITECTURAL OFFICER, ARADA

We put people and communities first at Arada. The way we look at it, people lie at the heart of our approach towards architectural design. We conceive spaces keeping dynamic experiences in mind.

Our communities are designed to enhance quality of life by facilitating active lifestyles and greener, cooler, more walkable spaces. We’ve incorporated earthy palettes, brought forth lush green views, accommodated ample facilities, and turned to technological advancements to minimize wastage. Our ethos brings people closer and creates a sense of spatial belonging while remaining mindful of ecological elements. Landscaping is a top priority for our design vision, something that visitors immediately notice when visiting our communities at Aljada and Masaar. Our homes respond to the power of nature and have strong relationship with natural light, natural ventilation and natural materials.

In creating inspirational urban lifestyles, we aspire to set benchmarks for healthier, more socially and environmentally responsible behaviors. We bring the outdoors inward and our indoors outward to bring you closer to nature.

Sustainable practices in architecture are impactful. We use clean, recycled water from efficient sewage treatment plants to hydrate our parks and extensive greenery at our developments across Sharjah. We also grow our own trees at our nursery, focusing on indigenous breeds including the ghaf, acacia and sidr – we know that trees have ample benefits from providing shade and lowering temperatures, to reducing carbon, and releasing phytoncides.

Over 50,000 trees from Arada’s nursery are being cultivated for our awardwinning forested master-development Masaar, which features seven gated communities containing four thousand homes with views of scenic landscapes. This master-community is designed to benefit from passive cooling thanks to a massive green spine that we have planned with abundant woods and tracks shaded by foliage. We have designed 13 kilometers of uninterrupted looped professional cycling tracks and jogging trails that run through the woodland landscape, with nine active parks and acres of green spaces for walks, picnics and meditation.

There’s also a green spine in the works at Arada’s Central Business District in Aljada, designed to filter airways between alleys to create a natural cooling environment among buildings at podium level. Our design for this modern business district involves lush green walkable public areas to encourage activity, calming views to reduce fatigue, and panoramic windows to maximize natural light and save on power. There are spaces for leisure, collaboration and yoga, trees planted within lobbies, and a distance of just 9 meters between buildings for added shade.