EDITOR’S NOTE

Our cover story this month highlights the urban plaza in front of the tallest twin-towers in Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka. The designers ambition for the Forum is for it to become a place where people can congregate with friends or family for social gatherings. Along with the twin towers, the plaza aims to redefine Dhaka’s open space and create a new benchmark for urban design in the country. See page 14

We also have an article by Will Bennett on the growing impact of tech on the day-day operations of landscape companies in the region — from customisable software to easily accessible payment processes that take the hassle of financial admin off your hands. See page 18

Our projects section features the latest landscape developments in the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan and China. In Abu Dhabi we focus on the recently completed Central Plaza, which is the latest addition to Masdar City. Home to the UAE Space Agency, the adjoining Central Plaza has been a strategic move for Masdar City. See Page 10 for more details on the Plaza’s design. With green and ecology as the core theme, the Suzhou Huanyuandang Ecological Restoration and Shoreline Linkage project is the first cross-provincial ecological restoration project in China. See page 36

And in Kuwait, we visited South Sabah Al-Ahmad City set to be the urban core for the country’s southern sub-region. It’s located 80 kilometres south of Kuwait City and will be home to an estimated 280,000 people, while creating another 145,000 jobs in a diverse range of industries including construction, medicine, manufacturing and culture, along with extensive green open spaces and multi-layered public transport systems that promote wellbeing and sustainability. See page 22 for more details.

Enjoy the issue!

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Managing Partner: Ziad Maarouf Amine

Copy Editor: John Hampton

Administrative Assistance: Sarry Gan

Art Director: Ramon Andaya

Contributors: Will Bennett, Sebastien Miller, Deborah Lambert, Sophia Cheung, Dr. Anne Gharaibeh, Olivia Hurst

Printed by: Al Nisr Publishing LLC

Webmaster: www.pdinventive.com

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NEOM unveils details of work behind Zero Gravity Urbanism, the concept underpinning the design of THE LINE, developed in collaboration with the global architecture community.

Zero Gravity Urbanism seeks to address global environmental and social challenges by striking a balance between nature conservation, livability, and sustainable human progress.

The Venice exhibition, curated by Ramon Prat, will be open to the public between 20 May and 24 September 2023.

The historic Abbazia di San Gregorio in Venice will be home to a landmark exhibition entitled, ‘Zero Gravity Urbanism - Principles for a New Livability’. The exhibition features the proposals of world leading architects sharing their work on THE LINE and their contribution to this urban revolution. Contributors include Morphosis, Sir Peter Cook, UNStudio, Fuksas, Oyler Wu, DMAA, and Adjaye, among others.

Zero Gravity Urbanism proposes a radical and progressive approach to cities with a sharper view towards balancing nature, livability, and human progress. In contrast to city development of the last century, it provides a sustainable model that responds to the world’s most pressing environmental and urban challenges, while addressing the need to accommodate a fast-growing urban population. The proposed model tackles urban sprawl, and climate change.

From a conservation perspective, THE LINE proposes a city that can accommodate up to 9 million inhabitants with a land footprint of 2% of that of cities with a similar population. This allows nature to thrive and contributes to protecting 95% of NEOM’s 26,500 km2 land area. THE LINE is also a model for a city that is fully powered by renewable energy and is supported with sustainable water and food production.