september in al ain: masdar city

Welcome to Mars

Outside Abu Dhabi near the airport is a large project in sustainable living called Masdar City. It is a planned community that is zero-emission, zero-waste and powered by sustainable energy, especially solar energy. When you arrive, you park in a garage and then get into a very Back To The Future electric car that drives itself to the city. Inside, the walls are constructed to allow maximum airflow and cooling and there is a large wind tower that cools the hot desert air.

Another courtyard - curving walls are to heighten
airflow and coolin

We thought it would be fun to go there since it's relevant to our client project - Masdar City is one of the most famous examples of government-private corporation partnership to promote sustainability. Since we're likely going to use it as a local example of corporate social responsibility, it seemed only responsible to see it for ourselves.

Of course the engineers on the team thought Masdar City was awesome. For me, it was a little freaky because it felt so completely deserted. No one was there at all. The buildings were very futuristic in design and when you look out over the walls of the city, you could only see a barren desert. That, with a hot wind blowing on your face, it felt like being the only inhabitants on Mars. No doubt it's an interesting project in environmental stewardship but I'll reserve judgment until it's full of people. #ibmcsc uae