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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman Botanic Garden set to be iconic project

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A consortium of internationally reputed multi-disciplinary engineering consultants is putting the final touches to the design of what promises to be one of the Sultanate’s most magnificent modern landmarks — the Oman Botanic Garden. The 420-hectare eco-park, located just outside the capital city in the foothills of the Hajar Mountains, will be home to potentially the world’s largest ecological oasis. Anchored by a pair of soaring biomes — the first of their kind in the Sultanate —the ambitious project aims to showcase and conserve the Sultanate’s rich botanical diversity, as well as host education and R&D facilities, and a high-end Visitor Centre.


Earlier this week, the trio of globally renowned consultants — Arup Engineering, Grimshaw Architects, and Haley Sharpe Design (hsd) — took the wraps off artist sketches of different facets of the Oman Botanic Garden, revealing what is set to be a truly iconic national project.


Inspirational in scope and stunning in design, this splendid venture has been guided by the vision of His Majesty the Sultan and the Diwan of Royal Court which worked closely with a world-class team of specialists in the delivery of the engineering, landscaping, architecture and interpretive designs of the project.


Ed Clarke, Associate Director at Arup described the Oman Botanic Garden project as a truly world-class. “At Arup we have enjoyed the many unique challenges presented by the Oman Botanic Garden; from designing natural and authentic landscapes to recreating the cool mists of the Khareef. More than 700 of our multi-disciplinary engineers and specialist designers were engaged to explore and find solutions that would befit such an ambitious and creative brief. The Oman Botanic Garden must surely be one of the most marvellous projects in the world.”


Grimshaw’s Keith Brewis, Partner, chimed in: “The Oman Botanic Garden is an astonishing project with many layers of interwoven cultural and environmental significance. Its scale and diversity is truly world-leading, and we are honoured to work as the architects for a project that has the conservation of bio-diversity as a core design driver.”


Added Alisdair Hinshelwood, Designer and Director — hsd: “The Oman Botanic Garden project set itself and the entire design team unique technical and cultural objectives, and aspirations. hsd has relished working on a project where the botanical, landscape and cultural heritage of Oman is being expressed through the detailed scientific research, technical design and sheer creative enthusiasm of the entire team, client and design alike.”


The unveiling of the designs marks a key milestone in the implementation of this monumental project that has been in the works for nearly a decade. Every facet of the project, from its location and topography to the design of its centrepiece biomes, has been the subject of intensive planning and study. The objective, according to the consultants, is to deliver a project of singular conservational, educational, research and tourism value to the nation.


Envisaged around the Botanic Garden are hundreds of distinctive Omani botanical species that will be grown in their natural habitats. However, plant species that require habitats not afforded by the eco-park’s location, 35 km from Muscat City, will be housed in a pair of signature biomes that replicate the temperature, humidity and other natural conditions necessary for their sustenance.


The first of these striking structures, dubbed the Northern Biome, is a large glass structure that will simulate the natural and environmental conditions necessary to sustain species thriving in the Northern Mountains. The Southern Biome, on the other hand, will feature plant species and habitats prevalent in the Dhofar region of the Sultanate. Dhofar’s unique khareef weather will be recreated in this biome as well.


Elsewhere around the Oman Botanic Garden, visitors will be introduced to the broad spectrum of the Sultanate’s distinctive flora, natural landscapes, wadis, geological settings, and so on, thereby serving as a one-stop destination for a complete overview of the country’s botanical, and indeed, natural heritage.


Conrad Prabhu


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