Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council’s Capital City District Plan wins Best Urban Design and Master Planning Project at Cityscape Awards
Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC), the agency responsible for the future of Abu Dhabi’s urban environment, has won the prestigious award for the best urban design and master-planning project for its monumental Capital City District Plan at the Cityscape Awards. H.E Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council was present at the gala award ceremony held last night at Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi.
The Capital City District, which is one of the major initiatives of Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, is envisioned as the focus of government, academic and knowledge based sectors. The Capital City District is proposed to accommodate approximately 370,000 residents and about 400,000 daily commercial, institutional and other users. The master plan for the much-anticipated Capital City District has also been unveiled at the ongoing Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2009 event.
Commenting on the award win, H.E Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council said “It is indeed a matter of pride for our team at UPC to win this award at Cityscape Abu Dhabi. Capital City District Plan has been inspired by the vision of the Late His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan to establish Abu Dhabi as the true global city of the world.” He further added “With an area of forty-five square kilometres, and a projected population of three hundred and seventy thousand residents, the Capital City is one of the most ambitious urban development projects being planned in the United Arab Emirates.”
The Capital City District Plan, which won the award for the best urban design and master-planning project in the architecture category, was evaluated by an esteemed panel of judges, who were looking for an outstanding project which best encourages or promotes a sense of place or significantly benefits the entire neighbourhood, town, city or region.
Cityscape Awards, which are a regular feature of the annual Cityscape Abu Dhabi event, are aimed at honoring the remarkable achievements accomplished by the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) real estate sector. The UPC’s Abu Dhabi 2030 infrastructure had in 2008 won two Cityscape awards for the Best Retail Project and the Best Urban Design and Master Planning categories.
“The Cityscape Abu Dhabi event has today truly become one of the most effective and recognized platforms for the region’s real estate and urban infrastructure sector to showcase their benchmark developments,” added Al Ahbabi. “Abu Dhabi today is well poised to achieve its objective of becoming the truly sustainable Arab Capital and it is events such as Cityscape, which help project the rapidly changing shape of the next generation capital to the rest of the world” concluded Al Ahbabi.
