Architect Middle East – May 2019

Moving toward

integration

LWK+Partners’ regional directors call

for greater integration within the UAE’s

residential developments

Across the UAE, concerns of residential supply increasing

ahead of demand suggests an oversupplied market that’s re-

sulting in a downward turn of both sales and rental prices of

units. Considered to be a soft market with a high number of

upcoming projects likely to see completion (Abu Dhabi saw

65 percent of its supply pipeline materialise in 2018), sales

and rents across the country are expected to continue drop-

ping in 2019.

In response, LWK+Partners’ Dubai-based directors

Kerem Cengiz and Kourosh Salehi argue that, in moving

forward, developments need to have greater integration in

their programmes in order to widen the appeal, mature their

offerings and create long-lasting foundations that nourish

vibrant communities.

Both Cengiz and Salehi argue for the need to create de-

velopments where diverse populations are encouraged to

live side by side. They advocate an urban planning strat-

egy that promotes greater integration and brings together

residents of different income backgrounds to live in mixed

communities. This, however, requires legislation that would

incentivise private developers to cater to a mixed customer

demographic.

“Residential is a very soft market now,” said Cengiz. “And

that pushes people to question what the next step for devel-

opment is. Is it more of the same in the future? I suspect the

answer is no and I think developers need to facilitate a more

integrated product with a mix of tenures and offerings, so we

don’t just get communities that are purely branded by typol-

ogy or financial tiering.”

“There are many stakeholders and visionaries that need

to participate in the future growth of our cities. Active dis-

course and engagement of all those interested in the built

environment is urgent and needs greater involvement,”

added Salehi. “Developers and other market operators play

a creative and enabling role and can facilitate progress. It is,

however, vital that simultaneously a more long-term view of

the future of our cities is adopted and is not purely left to the

impulses and short-term trends.”

The architects noted the potential possibilities of or-

ganically-developed communities in Dubai, like Karama

and Satwa, as well as neighbourhoods in Sharjah. To both,

these mixed residential areas are relevant for several rea-

sons, starting with their affordability, locality, full range of

services and the fact that they cater to residents of different

income brackets.

“These areas are mature,” said Cengiz. “They’ve be-

come self-sustaining in terms of their own population sizes

Kerem Cengiz

Kourosh Salehi

30 / SPECIAL REPORT