The digital representation shows the “smart city” being built on the outskirts of the Omani capital, Muscat.
Oman has unveiled ambitious plans to create a new “smart city” of 100,000 people on the outskirts of its capital, Muscat.
Located on an area of 14.8 square kilometers, Sultan Haitham City (literally Sultan Haitham City) will be roughly equal in size to Beverly Hills – but with almost three times the population.
The plan, shared exclusively with CNN by US architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), includes 20,000 homes, as well as a university, schools, healthcare facilities and mosques. It is scheduled to be built on largely undeveloped land in the Seeb area, several kilometers west of Muscat.
The new neighborhood, named Sultan Haitham City, will contain 20,000 new homes. Audio/Access
Work on the project is expected to begin next year and will be completed in four phases. The first phase, which will last until 2030, will develop the city centre, which covers an area of 5 square kilometers, and six of the 19 neighborhoods planned for the project. The final phase is not scheduled to be completed before 2045.
The project will provide “vibrant public space, high-quality, affordable housing and smart urban mobility,” SOM said in a press release.
Although there is no universally accepted definition of a “smart city,” the term generally describes the use of sensors, cameras, and devices connected to the Internet—the so-called “Internet of Things”—to collect and use data from the built environment. Although critics have raised privacy concerns, many urban planners believe big data can help cities deliver more effective and efficient public services, from traffic management to environmental monitoring.
The area is located on an area of 14.8 square kilometers, and will be approximately equal to the area of Beverly Hills.
In a statement, one of SOM’s senior associate directors, Bernhard Rettig, said Sultan Haitham’s “smart infrastructure” would be used to “monitor environmental factors such as air quality and water management.”
The company added that the plans also include a traffic management system that uses “real-time data (…) from cameras and speed sensors” to redirect vehicles and control traffic flow.
Weaning off the oil
The new project is part of Oman Vision 2040, a government initiative that aims – among other things – to increase the use of renewable energy and reduce the country’s dependence on oil, which currently represents more than half of state revenues.
SOM said its master plan is designed to “minimize” the site’s “ecological footprint,” citing solar installations, wastewater recycling, electric vehicle infrastructure and waste-to-energy plants. The architects were unable to specify how much energy would be generated in the area from renewable sources, but pointed to Oman’s national goal of producing 30% of its electricity from green sources by 2030.
SOM said its project responds to the high temperatures and humidity in Muscat, where temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Recently released digital renderings of the project show mysterious streets lined with structures that appear to be made of brick and wood. Streets and buildings will be oriented to maximize shade and encourage natural ventilation, according to the company.
The project envisages the installation of warehouses, a university, schools, health centers and mosques. Audio/Access
On the other hand, the park will be the heart of the neighborhood, with courtyards and an “interconnected network of open spaces.” The park will be created along a 7.5-kilometre-long section of the dry river, which, according to the architects, will be used to contain and capture floodwaters in a coastal area prone to seasonal flooding.
In a statement, the Omani Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning described the project as an “urban expansion” of Muscat. The new neighborhood should be connected to the Omani capital, which is located at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, through the public transportation network.
SOM is best known for buildings such as Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, but has also designed urban masterplans in places such as Canary Wharf in London and Millennium Park in Chicago, where the company is headquartered.
