Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and has established
a reputation for its rapid pace and style of urban development. The city has
a population of 1.1 million and has been undergoing rapid development since
1971 when it joined with other emirates to form the United Arab Emirates . Development
in Dubai must consider the very hot and humid climate, severe traffic congestion
and a shortage of public transport. There are very few restrictions or controls
on development in Dubai and many design professionals believe that opportunity
costs have been incurred by the way that development has taken place.
The studio was designed to identify the development opportunities at two hospital sites in Dubai . One of these ' the Rashid Hospital site' contained much vacant land, while the other now housing a fine hospital in antiquated facilities ' the Al Maktoum Hospital site' could be either redeveloped as a hospital or made available for other uses.
The MUDD students explored a variety of options for each site. Each represented an investigation of the sets of issues that fall within the boundaries of different standard urban design paradigms as applied to the site. They also represented explorations of different program mixes in terms of building types. The overall goal was to explore what falls within the concerns of the way development takes place in Dubai, but also to show urban designers and planners in the Emirate how the boundaries of their thinking, as well as that of students in the MUDD program, can be extended through design as an analytical tool.
Rashid Hospital precinct
development
The study area is located in Bur-Dubai along the Dubai Creek Park,
which itself is located along the Dubai Creek. The area is adjacent to the
Dubai Health Care City on the East. The surrounding areas are mixed
use mainly residential. The site is located near the downtown district
of Dubai and the Dubai international airport; both are located on the
east of the site and linked by two bridges namely; Al Maktoum and Al-
Gahoud. In the west side there is the new development area of Dubai which
include the Dubai Health Care City, the World Trade Centre next to the
Sheikh Zayed road, which presents new comers to the city with its flamboyant
design.
The requirements set by DOHMS form part of the overall goals and
objectives for the development. These requirements are to:
Retain the Trauma Centre, the medical library, the main entry,
the two mosque sites, the two residential towers, the main roads
within the site.
Establish a new hospital with a direct connection to the Trauma
Centre. The new hospital location must be different to the
existing one to enable the existing to operate while the new is
built.
Provide good emergency vehicle access.
Provide nurses accommodation.
Provide a new headquarters for DOHMS.
Provide a connection to the Health Care City and the proposed
metro station.
Provide a five star hotel and conference facilities.
Provide a good financial return for DOHMS.
Take advantage of the Dubai Creek views.
Al Maktoum Hospital site
redevelopment
Al-Maktoum Hospital was founded in 1951, historically the first ever
Hospital in UAE (United Arab Emirates).The site topography is flat with
a water table at 3 metres below ground. The surrounding areas are mixed
use, mainly residential. The area is heavily affected by the surrounding
traffi and noise.
The requirements set by DoHMS form part of the overall goals and
objectives for the development. These requirements are:
Retain the heritage building and the mosque.
Provide good emergency vehicle access if required.
Provide a good financial return for DoHMS.
One of the key issues for this site is its suitability as a medical centre
given the traffic congestion which makes access very difficult. The location
right in the middle of a popular commercial area also raises the issue
of opportunity cost - i.e. could this site be better used for something
else with medical facilities located elsewhere.
If medical facilities are provided on the site they must be located with
functionality in mind. This includes emergency and regular vehicle access,
pedestrian access, parking and the adaptability of the buildings for other
uses. Given the issue of suitability we have provided two main alternative
approaches - one which retains medical uses on the site and one which
does not.
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