The "Blue City" or Al-Madina Al-Zarqa in Oman, on the seaside west of the capital Muscat, has a capacity of 200,000 people. It is a modern variation on traditional Arab architecture, with its structural elements playing the role of resource-saving factors in the British architect's project. The main development will be residential areas with courtyards and narrow streets, as well as schools, a university, stadiums, golf courses, a concert hall, a marina and markets. A walking area with hotels and cafes will appear along the coastline.
For Bulgaria, Foster proposes a more radical plan: according to him, five new ecologically clean cities with minimal CO2 emissions will appear on the Black Sea coast. They will be named "Heavenly Village", "Desert Village", "Meadow Village", "Cape Village" and "Sea Village", depending on their location. In total, 15,400 people will live there. The settlements will be complemented by a coastal area with a pier, an entertainment center, a sports complex, cafes and shops. Residents will be asked to leave their personal vehicles at the entrance to the "Black Sea Gardens" (this will be the name of the entire complex), where they will be able to move with the help of electric vehicles, electric buses and bicycles. The local power plant will also be responsible for heating the buildings. The architectural design of residential and commercial buildings is inspired by wooden Bulgarian architecture. The building will be as dense as possible so that the smallest area of the natural environment of this region of Bulgaria will be used for construction.
Norman Foster's workshop also won an international competition to design the Sheikh Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island near Abu Dhabi. The museum will be part of the ensemble of the "cultural district" of the island, where buildings are already planned according to the projects of Jean Nouvel, Zaha Hadid and other famous architects.
Foster's rivals in the final of the competition were the Norwegian workshop Snohetta, the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and the Canadian bureau Moriyama & Teshima.
The task of the participants was to create a project of the national symbol of the UAE, combining educational and memorial functions. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan was one of the founders of the Emirates, who paid much attention to the problem of environmental protection.
