Sumit Singhal Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.
Equatorial Guinea’s Future Capital City in Equatorial-Guinea by IDF – Ideias do Futuro
December 6th, 2011 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: IDF – Ideias do Futuro
Located on the Wele-Nzas, the new capital city will be built in order to fulfill the President’s dream. The new capital city will be the attraction for an estimated 160.000 inhabitants and will extend for 8.150 Hectares. The concept is characterized by modernity and respect by the country’s cultural roots, optimizing its identity and the richness of the ecosystem where it belongs. Sustainability is also a privileged feature in every strand.
Landscape Architecture Team : Arch. Paisagista Ana Prata, Arch. Paisagista Sara Távora
Images and Movie: Arqui 300
City Block
Location and Accessibilities
The future administrative capital will be located in Wele-Nzas, between the cities of Bata and Mongomo and only 20 Km away from the new Mongomeyen airport. The city will be served by the national road net.
Analysis and Characterization
Djibloho is characterized by the dense equatorial forest that surrounds it and by the strong presence of the river Wele.
City Block
Concept
The concept created for the urban planning has its origin in the fusion between the river and the orthogonal matrix represented by the road net, in progress.
Cultural Center
Proposal
This concept is materialized by the strong presence of a green structure and the use, but also preservation, of the natural watercourses where the main infrastructures and the recreational facilities will be located along (urban parks, cemeteries, zoo, botanical garden, sports park and golf course). Djibloho will extend for 8.150 Hectares and is developed in an orthogonal matrix that takes advantage of the existing road net. This matrix allows the easy connection of the city centre with the rest of the nearby villages. Four main streets are created to structure the traffic flow and to locate a great variety of infrastructures. One of these main streets is Av. de la Justicia (Justice Av.), with 81m width and 3.629m length is inspired by the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. This avenue is the main Urban Life Axis and has its climax in the presidential palace. This is where the city’s heart is located, gathering several 6 storey high buildings for offices, commerce, public facilities and housing that correspond to a diverse range of urban activities. Overlooking this avenue, we can observe the cathedral reached by a funicular.
Harbour
Parallel to this avenue, close by the river Wele, is the Nature Axis where several cultural and leisure facilities are situated. They are strategically located in order to take the most of the natural elements, specially the proposed lagoon that results from the rivers enlargement. Although the entire plan proposes multi-function spaces, it consists of specialized areas where some activities are predominant. The Administrative Area consists of the Presidential Palace and Presidential Guard, along with the Government Ministries, the Parliament and the Supreme Court culminating at Av. de la Paz (Peace Av.) and a wide garden. Nearby this area we can find the Embassies neighborhood. Concerning the residential areas, the plan proposes the creation of three different areas for three different types of rents: high rents, middle rents and public housing. The first area is situated in a privileged riverfront surrounded by a wide green area. The midrange dwellings are located in the city center, not far from an agricultural area where community vegetable gardens can be found. Next to the industrial area and the technology center is situated the public housing, set Northeast and Southeast from the plan.
High Rent
These residential areas aim to promote neighborhood units composed by a large diversity of facilities from commerce to health, sports, educational, cultural and religious facilities. With the purpose of respecting the people’s traditions and culture, in each city block are proposed quality public spaces. In the new capital city a university unit will be placed nearby the technology center that aspires to have great significance in Africa. In order to fulfill the significant energy supply a city like this will surely need, it’s proposed the construction of a solar photovoltaic power station that would produce 156 GWh per year. It is also predictable the construction of a barrage, located 30 Km downstream. Reinforcing the need of maximizing the use of solar energy, it is proposed the installation of photovoltaic panels in several city buildings. Water and waste will also be treated with ecological technologies. To promote the city’s tourist potential, a Formula 1 circuit is considered in the city plan.
Library
New Centralities and City Highlights
The city’s structure presents several centralities including cultural, tourist, religious, administrative, educational, sports, health, commercial and recreational facilities that express the concern of preserving the local landform: the river, the watercourses and the vegetation that surrounds and penetrates them.
Masterplan
Engineering – floods prevention
Due to its climatic features and the rivers proximity, the plan provides several measures to prevent the predictable floods. This situation must yet be fully studied.
The creation of retention basins;
The protection of the margins natural vegetation;
The protection of the watercourses adjacent areas;
A barrage construction;
The construction of a canal to divert the excess water.
Middle Rent
Conclusion
These are the main features we have conceived for the future Equatorial-Guinea capital city. A place that protects the surrounding nature (the river, the watercourses and the existing vegetation), where public facilities are sophisticated and the concern with the environment real. This will promote Djibloho as a modern city, a new attraction for the population due to its ecological structure and capacity to achieve a sustainable way of living that will make all the country proud.
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