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Award:
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The Challenge: Wadi Hanifah is a unique natural and geographical feature in the dry central highlands of Saudi Arabia. With a catchment area of 4,500 square kilometers and a 120-kilometer-long main watercourse, the Wadi offers landscapes that are astonishingly diverse and extreme. Part of the desert watershed traverses the western portion of Metropolitan Riyadh, one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Beyond the high-rise towers of urban Riyadh, the Wadi region includes large industrialized farms, date palm plantations, two significant archaeological sites, and Bedouin villages. With its palm groves and cool waters, Wadi Hanifah played a vital role in the establishment of Riyadh as a center for trade and travel in the midst of the desert landscape. But in recent years, the rapid expansion and urbanization of the Saudi capital turned parts of the Wadi into a wasteland. Some areas were quarried and mined for construction materials to build the growing city. Others are dumping grounds for rubbish. Residential subdivisions, infrastructure, and expressways encroach upon the Wadi. Pollution, poor water quality, and water-related diseases proliferate due to inadequate infrastructure and lack of development controls. By contrast, the Wadi also has lush green areas due to the daily discharge of ground water, rain water, and treated waste water from Riyadh. Some waters, especially in the south, are relatively clean and support a diverse biological community that includes fish and aquatic birds. Yet the people of Riyadh have little appreciation or understanding of the surrounding ecosystem or the consequences of their activities on its recuperative capacity. The Mandate: In 2001 the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh commissioned the Joint Venture of Moriyama & Teshima Planners Limited (Canada) and Buro Happold (UK) to develop a Comprehensive Development Plan for Wadi Hanifah. The aim was to to address uncontrolled expansion of the City and continued misuse of the valuable Wadi and create tangible, sustainable improvements in the health of the Wadi environment and the quality of life of Riyadh's people. The City had already undertaken numerous studies that were never implemented. This time it wanted more than just a master plan, it wanted real results - detailed designs and drawings that could actually be built, that would begin the long process of restoring the Wadi to health. |
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