Australian architecture practice LAVA has won the bid to design the centre of the world’s first carbon-neutral city, Masdar, in the United Arab Emirates.

Chris Bosse’s winning design for LAVA features an open public plaza very unlike traditional public spaces in the region, which are usually airtight, artificially cooled buildings.

Mr Bosse’s design instead uses layered ‘solar umbrellas’ inspired by sunflowers which will shade spaces and capture solar energy during the day and then close and release heat at night to cool the space naturally. A large water feature in the centre will also help cool the area, as the insides of the umbrellas stop the cool air escaping.

“One of the problems in the Middle East is that the public spaces are pretty much the shopping malls – completely air conditioned and hermetically enclosed. We wanted to create an open plaza where you can see the sky, breathe fresh air and have real human interaction,” Mr Bosse said.

Building façades can be angled to receive more or less solar rays in Mr Bosse’s plans, and rooftop solar panels are expected to generate enough energy to run a convention centre, two hotels, cinema and shops.

Rain water will be collected and stored underground and roof gardens will be watered with grey water to grow food. Natural ventilation will also help cool the outside plaza, which will also have trees dotted around to help capture carbon and freshen the air.

The Masdar Initiative is a multibillion dollar government-sponsored project to create a zero carbon, zero waste city that uses 100% renewable energy and pioneers sustainable design technology. A masterplan of the city was drawn up by Lord Norman Foster’s Foster + Partners. It will also host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Two-year-old practice LAVA worked with Kann Finch Group, Arup, Transsolar and international experts to develop the winning design.

http://www.masdarcity.ae/en/index.aspx
http://l-a-v-a.blogspot.com/2009/08/masdar-plaza-by-lava-animation.html