Island Feels - 6 Big Place Moves

Led by our Dubai studio, in conjunction with our dedicated Wayfinding and Interpretation team, and in collaboration with experience strategists Studio 2020.

The aim was to create a distinct island identity that evokes memories through experience and encourages the formation of places for people to linger, repositioning the island’s sense of place, and guiding future design decisions.

Each “big move” was developed as an individual project on a short-, medium- or long-term time timeline, culminating in a more usable, coordinated, consistent and instantly identifiable island experience.

• WATERS EDGE ACTIVATION – Establishing more connections to the multitude of waters edge experiences.
• HIGHWAY UPGRADE – Curating the experience of the central road artery by managing views to maximise anticipation and intrigue.
• SIGNAGE & WAYFINDING UPGRADE – Orientating people with a united and integrated signage palette for ease of navigation.
• INTERDISTRICT PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY – Connecting the island’s districts with grade-separated pedestrian and multi-modal routes.
• PUBLIC REALM ACTIVATION – Activate street frontages at key moments by drawing uses to the front of the plots.
• MULTI-FUNCTIONAL ART INTEGRATION – Art that encourage users to interact and participate through sensory and playful artistic experiences.