The Site

In 2006, Yas Island was a flat landscape of desert and scrubland surrounded by navigable water, east of Abu Dhabi City and close to the main highway past the existing airport. To the north the views stretched out past low lying islands to the open ocean of the Arabian Gulf. A well engineered canal created a moated edge to the site and to the west further canals ran past mangrove nature reserves inhabited by migratory birds.

Image courtesy of Aldar

A blank canvas
The Island is a serene but featureless landscape; a vast sprawl with few undulations, yet it is not remote. Recently constructed roads cross bridges to connect into the site and the alignment of a new 10 lane highway links the Island and new airport to the heart of Abu Dhabi City itself.

Though flat and fairly featureless it is the stark beauty of the edges of the Island that give the clue to the real opportunities. The island's sandy shores are gently lapped by the azure waters of the south-eastern Arabian Gulf. The surrounding sea presents the opportunity to allow water to penetrate deep into the heart of the Island, creating a real sense of place, a sense of island living.