The new area for the Knowledge Foundation will occupy part of the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), the world's largest free economic zone for higher education. DIAC has already hosted more than 25 international universities with 24,000 students from 145 countries.
The OMA project covers 150 hectares, of which one hundred will be built up. Basically, they will build housing for students and teachers with the necessary infrastructure. Offices are also planned for the needs of universities, institutions of commercial and leisure programs, as well as the necessary hotels, cafes and shops.
The orthogonal plan consists of square blocks with a side of 360 m and several rectangular ones. They are three rows and six columns: each cell in this table is given to one or another existing "successful urban typology", so it is planned to achieve a variety of environments. The green public space connects all the main quarters in a ring, passing through the center of each.
Nearby - two highways, D54 and E611, the area is covered by bus routes, the Green Line of the Dubai Metro leads here.
This is not OMA's first urban development project for Dubai - it used to be this
a striking example of a pre-crisis scale.
