Dubai Company Unveils Design for a 500-Meter High Circular City Featuring a Green Belt with Diverse Ecosystems.
Circular city design surrounding the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai. (Photo: ZNera Space)
The Dubai-based company ZNera Space has proposed the construction of Downtown Circle, a 550-meter high circular city surrounding the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa (which stands at 828 meters), as reported by Design Boom on August 23. This circular city will have a circumference of 3,000 meters.
Dubai’s urban structure is becoming increasingly dense, characterized by towering and isolated buildings. However, Downtown Circle will be a colossal and distinctive architecture with an unusual design. This project aims to encompass all the elements of a bustling metropolis, focusing on sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Downtown Circle consists of five main levels and is divided into smaller units to create public, commercial, residential, and cultural spaces. The city is supported by vertical columns. Aiming for sustainability, the city is designed to mimic nature and create diverse public spaces. The structure includes two interconnected circular layers linked by a seamless green belt known as Skypark.
Skypark offers fresh air, abundant natural light, and panoramic views of the city. This belt combines greenery and urban functions, providing a high-quality user experience. Surrounding Skypark are offices, research centers, cultural spaces, and an ecosystem that functions as a lung for the city. Within the green belt, ZNera Space provides a diverse climate and natural living environment, including canyons, sand dunes, wetlands, waterfalls, caves, and tropical vegetation.
Diverse plant life at Skypark. (Photo: ZNera Space)
ZNera Space aims to make Downtown Circle an integral part of the urban ecosystem. The company plans to establish a sanctuary for wildlife, produce food, create rainwater harvesting areas, solar power stations, carbon storage systems, and air pollution filtration.
Architects have also designed a rail transportation system for Downtown Circle, which includes a fleet of gondola trains moving at speeds of 100 km/h. The passenger trains will run along the outer edge of the lowest level of Downtown Circle, providing a 360-degree view of the entire city below from an elevation of approximately 500 meters.
