Dubai, UAE
P &T Architects and Engineers Limited’s design for Dubai CommerCity has a total GFA inclusive of office spaces and logistics units of 207,000 sqm; a total leasable area of 176,000 sqm; and infrastructure and parking areas over 220,000 sqm, with 4,000 parking spaces.
Located in the Umm Ramool area, which is earmarked to develop into a mixed commercial and residential zone, the project is the first free zone dedicated to e-commerce in the MENA region.
The zone is divided into three clusters: Office Park, Central Park and Logistics Park, which are designed to strategically achieve environmental and investment sustainability.
The design challenge the team faced was creating a complete mixed-use project that consisted of components hardly related in terms of architectural style and usage.
However, the masterplan gradually transitions from the high-end polished environment of grade-A offices to the harsh industrial environment of the warehouses in Logistics Park, with a social park acting as a hybrid in terms of function and design.
“Flexibility for the office and warehouse components was the focus in the design in preparation for an ever-changing future,” said Stephan Frantzen, design director at P&T Architects and Engineers.
“We try to create spaces that invite people to create and explore changing and evolving activities. Sustainability was a must, and the large logistic buildings are, for instance, covered in photovoltaic panels, which produce most of the needed energy for the entire development.”
Frantzen added that vehicle dependence may be drastically reduced in the future, leading the design team to design parking predominantly above ground, so that such spaces can be converted into office and retail spaces if needed.
“We hope that CommerCity offers end users a place that is always showing new things, where people working in the DAFZA Um Ramool development love to be, and where people from all over Dubai want to go and explore,” said Frantzen.
P&T Architects and Engineers design for Dubai CommerCity
Architects: P&T Architects and Engineers Limited
Landscape Architects: Cracknell Landscape Design LLC.
Client/ Developer: Dubai Commercity LLC.
