Dubai Municipality: Winner of World Design Awards 2024. INSPIRATION: The design concept was developed to create a visitor’s center where the audience can come to observe the flamingo birds and learn more about the species that exist in the sanctuary.

The building was partially buried underground to avoid disturbing the migratory birds, while the other part was totally cladded with wooden sticks to provide full camouflage with the surrounding nature.

The middle court shall attract birds and other species, while the bridge along shall provide a nice experience for the visitors to walk through the amazing nature there. The total overall look of the building as a nest comes from a harmony of nature and humans.

The visitor center shall provide an integrated visitor experience that will take people on a journey through the building, this experience shall provide education, observation, engagement and entertainment by moving in a layered journey through four zones: immersion, wildlife, water, and land.

The building consists of two parts: the first part is buried underground, while the other steel structured part is semi-floating, supported on stills that are planted in the water. The elevations have been treated to be fully camouflaged with the surrounding nature and aesthetically pleasing and natural, adding coziness to the building.

The façade system shall be a stick system. A curtain wall is a type of building facade system that consists of individual components, or “sticks,” that are assembled on site to create the structural grid, to mitigate the issue of collision with glass, which can cause serious injury or death to birds, particularly those that are flying at high speeds. We found some ways to make glass facades more bird-friendly. These includes.

Using fritted glass, which has a pattern of small dots, lines, or a custom pattern that breaks up the reflective surface and makes it more visible to birds.

Using natural wooden stick cladding all around to ensure full camouflage for the building with the surrounding nature. the usage of natural wood will have value to the project as it is a sustainable material that can be grown and harvested sustainably; it has natural insulation properties and provides excellent thermal and acoustic insulation in addition to the aesthetic and natural touches that add coziness to the building.

• Site contest/ Challenges:

The major challenge in terms of ecotourism development for RAKWS was conciliating reception of a large public and observation of a fauna sensitive to disturbances. To achieve this goal, The main strategic direction is to “concentrate” visitors on the least sensitive areas and to preserve a large quiet zone for birds with as little disturbance as possible and adapt the camouflage of the different infrastructures depending on the sensitivity of the areas and their proximity to birds.

Project Details:-
Firm
Dubai Municipality

Architect
Shaikha Alblooshi

Project Name
The nest – visitor center

Project Category
Design Concept

Team
Project owner: Dubai municipality / public beaches and waterways management department Main Consultant: AE Seven Morse Architecture & Engineering Consultancies

Project Location
The Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary (RAWS) is located at the end of the Upper side of Dubai Creek, near the connection to the Dubai water Canal.
It is a home to approximately 270 species of fauna and 47 species of flora

Country
The United Arab Emirates

Photography ©Credit
Dubai Municipality

Dubai Municipality / Public Beaches & Waterways Management Department

Public Beaches &Waterways Management Department is part of the Public Facilities Agency in Dubai Municipality

One of the main task and strategic goal of the department is to preserve the natural environment to ensure the sustainability of renewable and non-renewable resources.

The department has three main sections:

• Beaches and Water Canals Development Section:

This section is mainly responsible for Developing public beaches and providing service facilities

• Public Beaches and Water Canals Policies and Strategies Section:

This section is mainly responsible for Proposing legislation, laws and developing policies, and

 Evaluating the beaches installations and marine facilities

• Beaches and Water Canals Control Section:

This section is mainly responsible for Supervision and management of public beaches, Providing beach safety requirements and rescue services

The department has initiated many projects such as:

– Rehabilitation of The Dubai Creek.

– Development of waterfront beach at Jebel Ali.

– Development of Dubai Public Beaches.

-Development of Ras Al Khor wildlife sanctuary.

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