SYDNEY studio LAVA has won an international competition to design the centre of sustainable eco-city Masdar.
Masdar, which will be built in the Middle Eastern desert, will feature a totally in the desert, a central plaza, five-star hotel, long stay hotel, convention centre, entertainment complex and retail facilities according to LAVA.
LAVA said it will cover the plaza with “solar umbrellas” modeled on the idea of sunflowers, which will open during the day to provide shade and capture energy and close at night, releasing the heat up into the sky to cool the plaza naturally.
LAVA Director Chris Bosse said sustainability needs to be deeply ingrained in the design and can look stylish.
The company’s plan also includes adaptive building façades with angles that can be altered to offset or optimise solar glare, materials on wall surfaces that respond to changing temperatures and contain minimal embedded energy and underground water storage.
Masdar will also feature interactive light poles, interactive and heat sensitive technology, as well as roof gardens for food production, energy generation, water efficiency and the reuse of organic food waste.
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