INTRODUCTION
IN THE CONTEXT OF NEW CAIRO’S RESIDENTIAL MARKET, FAMILIARITY WITH TARGET END USERS IS IMPORTANT IN DEFINING PRODUCT TYPOLOGIES. AT THE SAME TIME, A LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY FOR MASTER PLANS TO ADAPT TO CHANGES IN MARKET DEMANDS IS A DESIRABLE FEATURE. THE MEANS TO ACHIEVE THIS – PLOT SIZE REVISIONS, ROAD EXTENSIONS, PHASING OF DEVELOPMENT – ARE VARIED AND ARE A CHALLENGE FOR MASTER PLAN.
THE PROJECT VISION
IN PLANNING AND DESIGNING RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES, THE MASTER PLANNERS HAS SET A BENCHMARK THAT AIMS TO PROMOTE A HIGH QUALITY OF LIVING AT PAR WITH NEW CAIRO’S PROGRESS. THE MASTER PLANNERS HAS ENVISIONED A COMMUNITY WHERE ITS RESIDENTS (ABOVE AVERAGE LAYER OF THE CAIRO RESIDENTS SOCIETY) CAN EXPERIENCE A HIGH QUALITY OF LIVING. BY INTEGRATING THE PUBLIC REALM AS A DOMAIN OF ENRICHING DAILY EXPERIENCES, THE COMMUNITY ATTAINS VITALITY THROUGH WELL-CONNECTED OPEN SPACES. ARRANGED IN CLUSTERS OF NEIGHBORHOODS, A PROGRESSIVE AND PHASED DEVELOPMENT THAT ALLOWS FLEXIBILITY AND SENSITIVITY TO MARKET DEMANDS IS THE BEST RESPONSE TO THE CYCLIC NATURE OF THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
THE CIENT VISION:
LA MIRADA IS DEVELOPED BY GRAND PLAZA COMPANY; SHAREHOLDING COMPANY ESTABLISHED BY A GROUP OF REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS WITH THE PURPOSE TO OWN,
DEVELOP AND MANAGE REAL ESTATE PROJECTS.
SHAREHOLDERS ARE GROUP OF INVESTORS WHO HAVE LONG TERM INDUSTRIAL TRACK RECORD ESTABLISHING AND DEVELOPING MANY PROJECTS IN EGYPT CURRENTLY LED BY NEW GENERATION ENTREPRENEUR ENG. SHERIF FAROUK OSMAN WHO REPRESENTS THE YOUNG DRIVING FORCE FOR THE GROUP EXPANDING INVESTMENTS AND SUCCESS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. THE GROUP HAS RECENTLY ENCOUNTERED THE REAL ESTATE FIELD FOR DIVERSIFICATION COUNTING ON THEIR SOLID FINANCIAL BACKGROUND ALONG
SHAREHOLDERS HAVING LONG TRACK RECORD IN REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION MARKET.
LA MIRADA (SPANISH: THE VIEW) IS A DISTINCTIVE COMMUNITY ESTABLISHED IN FIFTH SETTLEMENT –CAIRO. LA MIRADA IS OFFERING A NEW WAY OF LIVING IN A FRIENDLY AND QUALITY ENVIRONMENT. IT IS AN ORIGINAL AND STATE OF THE ART CONCEPT YET ECONOMIC AND CONTEMPORARY FOR RESIDENTS LOOKING FOR AN ESCAPE; ALSO LA MIRADA MAINLY IS APARTMENTS COMPOUND IT IS SURROUNDED BY MOST ELEGANT VILLAS COMPOUND.
FUTURE CITY | NEW CAIRO
MOSTAKBAL CITY” IS A FULLY INTEGRATED AREA THAT INCLUDES DIFFERENT USES SUCH AS RESIDENTIAL, SERVICES, RETAIL, COMMERCIAL, MEDICAL, EDUCATIONAL, ENTERTAINMENT, AND LOGISTICS ZONES THE CITY WILL BE MANAGED AND DEVELOPED BY THE MASTER DEVELOPER " EL MOSTAKBAL FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT " WHICH IS AN EGYPTIAN SHAREHOLDING. EL MOSTAKBAL CITY FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENTS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARING THE MASTER PLAN AND URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR THE WHOLE PROJECT, SECURING THE GOVERNMENTAL APPROVALS, AND IMPLEMENTING THE MAIN ROADS NETWORK ALONG WITH MAIN INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORKS THE FUTURE CITY WILL BE DEVELOPED BY SUB-DEVELOPERS TO BE THE NEARST LUXRY AREA NEARBY NEW CAIRO CITY.
URBAN PLANNING CONTEXT:
THE EGYPT 2052 MASTER PLAN ENVISIONS COMPACT CITY GROWTH DEVELOPMENT APPROACH. IT ENVISIONS THE INTEGRATION OF SEVERAL PARAMETERS INCLUDING COMMITTED LAND FOR MEGA PROJECTS, ON-GOING PROJECTS, CONSERVATION AREAS, NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE & MOBILITY NETWORKS, AVIATION RESTRICTIONS, URBANIZATION PARAMETERS, AND METROPOLITAN GROWTH SCENARIOS AMONG OTHERS TO ARRIVE AT THE PROPOSED MASTER PLAN.
BY PROMOTING URBAN METROPOLITAN AREAS AND COMPACT CITY GROWTH, URBAN NODES WHICH COVER THE PROJECT SITE ARE BEING DEVELOPED WITH THE EXISTING URBAN FABRIC.
DELINEATION OF METROPOLITAN AREA PLACES “DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE” FOR LIMITED FINITE LAND RESOURCES.
THE PROJECT SITE IS IN MOSTAKBAL CITY WHICH IS AN AREA OF 11,000 ACRES EQUIVALENT TO 45 MILLION SQUARE METERS CONSISTING OF 5 PHASES, WHERE THE ROADS AND GREEN AREAS REPRESENT 50% OF THE TOTAL AREA OF THE CITY. MOSTAKBAL CITY IS CONSIDERED THE FIRST INTEGRATED MEGA GREEN CITY IN NEW CAIRO CITY WITH A NEW CONCEPT OF MODERN LIVING, ESTABLISHED ON EXTENSIVE MARKETING STUDIES TO KNOW THE NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE TARGET MARKET FROM THE DEVELOPERS & INVESTORS. IT INCLUDES ALL THE BASIC UTILITIES FROM:
STATISTICS:
A GREEN CORE
ALTERNATIVE 1
CONTINUOUS OPEN SPACE
ALTERNATIVE 2
VIBRANT CENTER
ALTERNATIVE 3
SELECTED ALTERNATIVES:
COREA GREEN
ALTERNATIVE 1
A GREEN CORE
OPEN SPACE DESTINATION
COMMUNITIES HAVE A FOCAL POINT THAT DEFINES NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER. TRUE TO THE NATURE OF SOCIETY AND OF HUMANS, URBAN SPACES ARE REPLETE WITH CENTRAL SPACES WHICH ARE VENUES OF SOCIAL ACTIVITY AND VITALITY. THE CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION OF A TREE CORE BECOMES THE INSPIRED SYMBOL OF THE SECOND CONCEPT.
CONCENTRIC LAYERS RADIATING FROM THE CENTRAL CORE TYPIFY THE LAYERS OF OPEN SPACES AND RESIDENTIAL TYPOLOGIES. THE MASTER PLAN CONCEPT IS INWARD-LOOKING WITH PREMIUM PLOTS CLUSTERED AROUND THE INNER OPEN SPACE CORE. SIMILARLY, PERIPHERAL AREAS HAVE RESIDENTIAL PLOTS CLUSTERED AROUND OPEN SPACES AND ARE CONNECTED TO THE INNER CORE THROUGH STREETS OR GREEN CORRIDORS. A SERIES OF GREEN CORES ARE PLANNED TO BECOME ACTIVITY NODES THROUGHOUT THE DEVELOPMENT. THESE CORES ARE PLANNED AS SEPARATE NODES THAT ENABLE EACH TO SERVE THE IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOODS EFFECTIVELY. SUB-NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AS WELL. EACH NEIGHBORHOOD BECOMES A DESTINATION NODE WITH ITS OWN CHARACTER AND VIBRANCY. BY POSITIONING THE GREEN PARKS AS CONCENTRIC CORRIDORS WITHIN RESIDENTIAL BLOCKS, A CONTINUOUS PATH OF A CURVING GREEN CORRIDOR BECOMES A REGULAR FEATURE OF THE PLAN. POSITIONED IN BETWEEN BACKYARDS AS A CONSISTENT DEFINED SPACE THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, THE GREEN SPACE SERVES AS A SECURED AND FAMILIAR PUBLIC REALM OF EACH BLOCK. AS A RESULT, EACH CONCENTRIC PARK ATTAINS UNIQUE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER AND BECOME DESTINATION POINTS BY THEMSELVES.
CONTINUOUS OPEN SPACE
ALTERNATIVE 2
CONTINUOUS OPEN SPACE
SYNERGY OF LIFESTYLE & OUTDOORS
THE PRESENT CHALLENGE IN MANY DEVELOPMENTS IS THE DISCONNECTION BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOODS WITHIN A COMMUNITY AS A RESULT OF AN EMPHASIS ON ROAD FUNCTIONALITY. OFTEN, ROADS PROVIDE THE MAIN MEANS OF MOBILITY FOR PEDESTRIANS AND, AS A RESULT, TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER THE FUNCTIONAL ROLES OF PARKS IN IMPROVING COMMUNITIES. BY POSITIONING PARKS AS AN EQUAL AND BETTER CHOICE FOR MOBILITY, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY EXISTS TO ENHANCE THE LIFESTYLE OF RESIDENTS BY CREATING AN ILLUSION OF THE OUTDOORS AS AN ACCESSIBLE SPACE LIKE AN EXTENSION OF A PLOT.
THE PROPOSED LAYOUT ADDRESSES THE DISCONNECTION OF RESIDENTS TO THE OUTDOORS AND BY EXTENSION TO THE NATURAL WORLD. BY CREATING THE ILLUSION OF INTEGRATING THE OUTDOORS SIMPLY BY EXTENDING BACKYARDS INTO THE OPEN SPACES, A MORE DYNAMIC NEIGHBORHOOD IS ACHIEVED. INSPIRED BY THE ORGANIC STRUCTURE OF THE LEAF, THE MASTER PLAN CONCEPT PRESENTS A CENTRAL OPEN SPACE AS A UNIFYING SPINE FROM WHERE OPEN SPACE CORRIDORS EMANATE FROM.
SIMILAR TO THE LEAF PHYSIOLOGY, THE LEAF SPINE IS THE REPOSITORY OF A PLANT’S VITALITY. IN THE SAME ANALOGY, THE LAYOUT PROMOTES OPEN SPACE CORRIDORS AS SHAPERS OF NEIGHBORHOOD FORM AND ACTIVITIES. AS A “PREMIUM” LAND USE, THE OPEN SPACE CORRIDORS ARE LOCATED AT THE CORE OF THE MASTER PLAN AND PROXIMITY TO IT IS A LUXURY. BY REPOSITIONING THE OPEN SPACE (I.E. LANDSCAPED AREAS) AS A CONTINUOUS GREEN CORRIDOR, A SYNERGY BETWEEN ACTIVITIES AND THE OUTDOORS IS ACTIVELY PROMOTED.
IN THIS CONCEPT, AN ORGANICALLY SHAPED LINEAR GREEN SPINE IS CENTRALLY POSITIONED ALONG THE CENTRAL AXIS OF THE PLOT AS A MEANS TO “ENGAGE, ENHANCE, AND EXPERIENCE” THE OUTDOORS IN A MORE INTIMATE LEVEL. THIS MEANDERING GREEN SPINE IS CONNECTED INTERMITTENTLY ALONG ITS LENGTH TO A SERIES OF SMALLER GREEN CORRIDORS THAT EXTEND TO SUB-NEIGHBORHOODS AS BACKYARD GREENS. THE CENTRAL LOCATION OF THE GREEN “FORCES” THE MAIN ROAD NETWORK TO TAKE A SUBSERVIENT ROLE IN THE OVERALL PLAN. THE ROAD NETWORK IS PLANNED TO LOOP AROUND THE CENTRAL GREEN TO SERVE THE DIFFERENT PLOTS. THE ECOLOGICAL STRATEGIES RANGE FROM PROMOTING NATIVE PLANT SPECIES, PROTECTING HABITATS, AND CREATING ECOLOGICAL AREAS WITHIN PUBLIC AMENITY SPACES. THE PLAN AIMS TO BALANCE HUMAN REQUIREMENTS OF THE PUBLIC REALM WITH THOSE OF BIODIVERSITY.
VIBRANT CENTER
ALTERNATIVE 2
VIBRANT CENTER
DIVERSITY & VIBRANCY
DEVELOPMENT EDGES ARE CLEARLY DEFINED AND STRONG CENTERS OF ACTIVITY ARE LOGICALLY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER WITH A TOWN CENTER EVOLVING AT THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER OF THE PROPERTY. THE NEW URBANIST APPROACH FOCUSES ON INTERCONNECTIVITY AND WALKABILITY.
MASTER PLAN AIMS TO MAINTAIN AN IDENTITY FOR LA MIRADA DEVELOPMENTS AND BY INTEGRATING THE ELLIPSE WITH THE STRAIGHT MODULE CREATING A DYNAMIC HART AND A GREEN CORE, DIVERSE LIFESTYLES AND URBAN CHARACTERS ARE NURTURED AS EACH CLUSTER DEVELOPS. THE GRID CLUSTERS DEVELOPED FROM THE PLANNING PRINCIPLES OF NEW URBANISM IS A MODEL REFERENCE THAT ILLUSTRATES THIS PLANNING CONCEPT.
NEW URBANISM PLANS ADHERE TO THE PRINCIPLES OF “WALKABLE’ COMMUNITIES. EACH NEIGHBORHOOD HAS A DISCERNIBLE CENTER IN THE FORM OF A PUBLIC SQUARE OR AN OPEN SPACE. VARIETY OF DWELLING TYPES ADDS TO THE VIBRANCY OF NEIGHBORHOODS INCLUDING RETAIL SHOPS THAT ARE SUFFICIENTLY SIZED TO SUPPLY WEEKLY NEEDS OF RESIDENTS. SMALL PLAYGROUNDS OR POCKET PARKS ARE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL DWELLING UNITS. ROADS ARE PLANNED TO SLOW TRAFFIC MAKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD SUITABLE AND SAFE FOR PEDESTRIANS AND BICYCLES. PROMINENT SITES SERVE AS TERMINATION POINTS OF STREET VIEWS AND MAY INCLUDE COMMUNITY BUILDINGS, PLACES OF WORSHIP (MOSQUE), A RETAIL CENTER, OR A PARK.
IN ADDITION TO THE PRINCIPLES OF NEW URBANISM, THE INTRODUCTION OF USABLE GREEN CORRIDORS BEHIND RESIDENTIAL PLOTS IMPROVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER AS BEING COMPACT YET UNRESTRICTIVE IN APPEARANCE.