AS+P has been commissioned to develop the Master Plan for an exclusive site just south of Al Amariah Road, directly adjacent to Aga Khan Award-winning Wadi Hanifah, and north of Ad Deriyah with its UNESCO heritage protected old town at-Turaif.
The focus has been to draw on the benefits offered by the wadi and to develop this area to an upmarket, predominantly residential, new district of Ad Deriyah.
The total investigated site area of 8,659,750 m2 also included the wadi edge and farmland occupying the side valleys of Wadi Hanifah.
The master plan devises a distinct urban heart that is structured around a district center, located at the main thoroughfare. Within the urban core higher densities are planned, mostly apartment buildings of varying height. However, most of the site is reserved for low density residential development, with large palace plots oriented towards Wadi Hanifah. The entire development site will provide home for approximately 88,000 inhabitants.
To reduce traffic and provide an excellent quality of life, the master plan has been developed following the principles of a "city of short distances", where essential services and daily needs are within comfortable walking range. Schools of all grades, neighborhood shopping, mosques and parks are well integrated, so that they can be reached comfortably by foot, reducing the need for unnecessary car trips.
The backbone of the development will be the activity spine leading from the district center to a leisure and entertainment cluster directly at the wadi edge. The proposed development will be the first to offer public access to the edge of Wadi Hanifah, providing a welcome new attraction for Riyadh.