The ecocity in the desert
No carbon dioxide, no cars, no waste products: Masdar (Arabic for “source”) has been designed from scratch as an ecological city that is only dependent on renewable energy. Of this, 80% is solar energy and the rest is gained from wind energy installations and the conversion of waste materials. An ultramodern infrastructure and building technology will lower energy and water requirements by around 70%. In terms of transport, the urban area of Masdar is accessed using electric vehicles and is linked to the public transport network by a light railway.
The aim of Masdar is to prove that a high standard of living is also possible with clean energy and, in addition, to turn Abu Dhabi into a precursor of renewable energy. Masdar will thus have a university for environmentally oriented sciences, which is being developed in conjunction with the “Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)”. The “Masdar Institute of Science & Technology (MIST)” is the first university worldwide that is focused exclusively on research in the field of sustainability. In this setting, Masdar wishes to attract companies from all over the world that are active in the field of Clean Tech & Services. Abu Dhabi has already made a name for itself as the location of the “World Future Energy Summit”, one of the world’s largest Clean Tech conferences.
As a visionary project, Masdar has attracted major interest worldwide, last but not least because renowned British architect Sir Norman Foster is responsible for overall planning. Swiss companies were also significantly involved in the design of Masdar. Construction of Masdar has already started with the opening of the “Masdar Institute of Science and Technology” scheduled for 2009. The first part of the city will be completed by 2011 and the eco city on the edge of the desert will be fully ready for occupation in 2018.
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