Food4Rhino webinar series: Panther - Thursday October 22 at 5 PM CEST

Urban Dunes project

Urban Dunes is a project that envisions a solution to reduce the heat island effect for an extreme climate such as Abu Dhabi’s, where the harsh conditions felt across significant months of the year reduce the feasibility of normal external activities. 

The Italian design firm Barberio Colella Architetti, with architect Angelo Figliola, has designed a 3D printed structure using Rhino and Grasshopper.  The structure embeds architectural elements from Abu Dhabi's and Emirates’ traditional architecture, such as elegant vaulted spaces, vernacular shading devices (mashrabiyya), and cold-water basins and waterfalls. The vault is composed of several stereotomic blocks made of desert sand made solid by using the binder jetting technology. The vault permits to avoid the overheating of the urban space thanks to the shell's high thermal mass. 

The project has won the honorary mention at the Cool Abu Dhabi Challenge. 

Congratulations to the whole team!