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It was supposed to be the eco-city of the future. Masdar – a climate-neutral city in the middle of the desert near Abu Dhabi – home and workplace for tens of thousands of people. That was the plan 17 years ago. Today only a fraction of this has been realized. But in terms of climate policy, the project is a success.
“Did Masdar fail?” He’s been asked the question umpteen times. “Not at all,” replies Chris Wan, Masdar City’s head of sustainability, slightly annoyed.
Those who fail are those who don’t tackle anything new.
A lot of things have been tried out here in Masdar in recent years. Some things failed, others were later copied elsewhere. Chris Wan stands in front of the regional headquarters of the German energy company Siemens. This is a multi-story building with a glass facade.
Hundreds of differently aligned sails made of thin aluminum on the facade provide shade. Behind it begins the town of Masdar, a small town of around six square kilometers.
Legend: Signpost in Masdar Everything in the small town is within walking distance. Mobility to and from Masdar is (still) traditional: taxi or bus. Klaus Ammann, SRF
It is quiet between the tall buildings, almost a little deserted. Cars don’t drive. The buildings are close together to provide each other with shade. Instead of the originally planned 40,000 people, only around 3,000 people live here, mainly students.
Those responsible for Masdar City themselves do not live here, nor does Lutz Wilgen, the head of design. He explains that his dogs have no place here. But Masdar is well-used.
We are expanding Masdar step by step, according to demand. And we make healthy profits.
This means you can always learn from the existing buildings. Wilgen points to a building whose facade is covered with plastic elements. These have hardened after 15 years and need to be replaced. We have learned from this and are now using other materials, says Wilgen.
Legend: The former library The building, which the British star architect Norman Foster designed as a library, now serves as the administration building of the local university. In addition to the architecture, the building material is also special: wood. Klaus Ammann, SRF
For an eco-city, a striking number of buildings are made of concrete. The significantly more climate-friendly wood is difficult to obtain in the region, explains the design boss. Clay has recently been tested as a building material.
Contrary to what was planned, Wilgen admits that the city is far from being climate neutral today: there are only two zero-energy houses here. A third will be added soon. It is the first climate-neutral mosque in the world.
Legend: The only wind tower for the time being. According to an ancient principle, wind is “captured” at a height of around 40 meters, humidified and directed to the pedestrian level. However, for reasons of cost and efficiency, only one such tower has been built so far. Klaus Ammann, SRF
Many things are not as the founders of Masdar City originally imagined. After the 2008 financial crisis, the parastatal company behind Masdar scaled back its ambitions and brought in outside investors.
According to certain critics, Masdar is a project that was doomed from the start and only served to give the United Arab Emirates a green cloak.
Legend: In the glass egg through the underground Design boss Lutz Wilgen invites you to take a ride in the personal rapid transit system. The egg-shaped, driverless electric vehicles were originally intended to serve the entire eco-city. Today they only drive from the entrance to the visitor center. Klaus Ammann, SRF
Gökçe Günel, an anthropology professor from Texas, has lived in the eco-city herself. She believes that Masdar is misunderstood: With Masdar, the United Arab Emirates demonstrated economic alternatives to the production of oil and gas and attracted attention.
Masdar is primarily an economic diversification project rather than an urban development one.
Since then, their voice has been heard in global energy and climate policy. After all, it was no coincidence that the Emirates hosted the last UN climate conference in Dubai.
The Masdar city project is no longer a priority.
The government in Abu Dhabi and the company behind Masdar have different priorities today, says Günel: “The Masdar city project is no longer a priority.” Today, things like green bonds or the production of green hydrogen are in the foreground.
It is very likely that Masdar City will only continue to grow slowly. Important impulses for sustainable construction can hardly be expected from here. Politically, Abu Dhabi has achieved a lot with the Masdar City eco-city project.