Abu Sidra Development
Abu Sidra, Qatar
Client: Mohamed Bin Hamad Holding
Plot: 1,376,111m²
Components: Villas, Residential & Commercial Buildings
Scope: Masterplanning & Infrastructure Design
Status: Under Construction
Abu Sidra is situated within a 13km radius of central Doha. Surrounded by open urban fringes, it is considered to be the last frontier of built masses southwest of the capital. Pockets of sporadically distributed low density housing areas are present along the road to Abu Samra.
The site encompasses an area of 1,376,111.40m² located at a junction which will in future connect to Abu Samra to the industrial area and Al Waab Street. This makes it a sizable area for an integrated contained development plan, a prime location for the future extension of Doha’s urban conurbation, and potentially one of the city’s significant sub-centres.
The site is very well connected to main highways and access corridors to other parts of Doha. The upgrading and creation of new connecting roads rendered the site highly strategic for the development of a new integrated neighborhood. The land gently undulates from north to south, with a difference of level of about 4 metres along the Al Waab Road. An agricultural asset comprised of cultivated land and animal farms currently occupies about 25 percent of the property. There is the interesting presence of an agro-ecological system, with mature date trees and other shade trees planted along unpaved pathways and irrigation channels. Water is extracted from a well, taping the water source as deep as 50 metres below ground.
The existing built structures do not present any significant interest architecturally or as a physical asset, but research into the site’s historical content suggested that it may once have been a stop point for caravans to Saudi Arabia.
The illustrative Abu Sidra Masterplan reflects the ambitions for the development of the site, building upon the established design principles. It describes the design intention for this new community that will continue to evolve responding to development requirements and market changes. The current Masterplan presentation is based on mix of components as recommended by a market study conducted by a professional consultant. The concept represented shows the hope that Abu Sidra will be integrated into the surrounding residential, industrial and rural areas by working with the natural systems and engaging the open space network to deliver a series of parks and simplified pedestrian connectivity. The broader aim is to create a sustainable mixed-use town centre, and a diversity of residential choices supported by the vehicular and pedestrian network.