Abu Dhabi first air-conditioned outdoor walkway offers relief from heat
Operated in tandem with a line of cafes and offices in Al Mamoura, a cool 70-metre-long promenade caters to pedestrians and patrons alike — even during the height of summertime.
The Abu Dhabi air-conditioned outdoor walkway was opened in late December last year by the emirate's Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) after 12 months in the making, and is a pilot project intended to provide a more walkable city experience outside the hot summer months.
The shaded corridor incorporates in-floor cooling, sound-absorbing walls, and a sun-filtering, heat-rejecting roof. We have a rationale for each detail, Hamda Al Hashemi, Director of the Urban Design Division at DMT said.
It allows natural light in whilst also adding a cooler element to the interior space. These were soundproof walls so to speak. The cooling system in the floor is also a nice touch for walking around.
It was important for us to ensure that the corridor was not only functional, but also comfortable for those who use it, so the design was created by our in-house team of architects and landscape designers" she said.
She described the idea of this cooling space as being inspired by Abu Dhabi's leadership of "making the city walkable and comfortable, especially during the summer." We know this works because we have seen similar ideas in other places like Doha.
While Al Mamoura was selected as the first site as already having a pedestrian presence from nearby offices and homes (a local hot spot where people typically stroll between cafes and workspaces), the activate-able extensions of this box park could accomplish the same thing in burrows with more vacant streets. “This site enables us to use the intelligence we gain monitoring how the corridor works throughout the calendar year and will help us to determine the feasibility of the project expanding to a wider area."
In response to the reason the corridor does not extend from parking to building entrances, Al Hashemi said this location provides information they feel will be beneficial before expansion is explored. "We've built a new baseline, and now our attention is on understanding the consequences." We are proposing for more corridors, they will be in busy pedestrian areas so that they will be of better value to the community for their purposes to be effective.
This first of its kind walkway is powered by a traditional cooling system, but planners hope to incorporate solar energy and other green technologies. Without a doubt, sustainability is higher on others' lists — we're exploring ways to incorporate solar power, for example, and more green design features in future corridors.
Given that the summer temperatures in the UAE can hoist above 45°C, such paths could be a significant respite for people during summers.
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