Qurum PARK
VMX Architects’ plans for the Qurum Park in Muscat aim to upgrade the oldest and most important park in the city while promoting sustainability and providing value for the community. The park, which is connected to natural resources such as the mangroves and attached nurseries, is already the greenest park in Muscat, offering recreational spaces for movement and sports as well as public events.
The new masterplan proposes a major upgrade to the park, with a focus on creating more space for greenery and allowing the wadi and mangroves to grow within the city in a natural and sustainable way. This plan is financed by a new mixed-use development around the park, which will generate significant value and provide feasibility and resiliency to the masterplan.
With this plan, the Qurum Park is set to become a model for sustainable urban development, much like the Central Park in Manhattan. The community will benefit from a greener and more functional public space, while the surrounding area will experience new and valuable development.
The park zone is (by far) the largest surface without roads/traffic. The only place where there is the potential to ‘get away’ from the car. Currently its a barrier, that can only be seen, but not experienced. Could the area become accessible for humans, to get away from traffic,
to enjoy nature in coexistense with the existing ecosystem? And could that ecosystem get more space / be enriched by this strategy?
NATURE FOCUSSED
Mangroves are a unique type of plant that thrive in the salty waters of the sea. By intensifying their existing nature, we can bring the sea and mangroves further inland, creating a larger ecological zone that benefits both the environment and local communities. In addition to being low-cost to maintain, mangroves also help to intensify greenery and add to the beauty of our border zones.
CENTRAL PARK
Parks are an integral part of our urban fabric, and can serve as a centerpiece in the middle of our neighborhoods. By densifying the border zone to the road, we can create a new development that not only protects against pollution and noise but also provides valuable new features at the central park. This approach offers a sustainable financing option for the park and benefits the local community by enhancing the surrounding area.
LOCATION
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
CLIENT
Municipality of Muscat
YEAR
2023, On Going
PROGRAM
Master planning, mixed use, landcape
SIZE
400 ha
TEAM VMX
Don Murphy, Shaya Fallahi, Maarten Kempenaar, Conor Murphy, Tadhg Arrigan
COLLABORATORS
Direct Construction Muscat
IMAGES
VMX Architects
