User:Shamadeh/Al Raha Beach

Al Raha Beach Al Raha Beach (Arabic: شاطئ الراحة), also known as ‘the ultimate waterfront city’, is a master planned development in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Developed by Aldar Properties, Al Raha Beach is one of the most integrated developments of its kind world-wide, with master-planned communities featuring residential, business, educational and entertainment facilities supported by modern infrastructure. With a total area of over 6 million sqm and 11 km of coastline, Al Raha Beach offers residents and visitors 43 km of dynamic waterfront living. The development will be home to individual residential communities complemented by world-class amenities, a host of hotels, beaches, marinas, retailing and commercial accommodation. Al Raha Beach is only 20 minutes’ drive from Abu Dhabi city centre and 10 minutes from the airport and the Abu Dhabi – Dubai highway. The comprehensive network of marine, rail and land transportation will provide residents and visitors with hassle-free movement throughout the development as well as neighbouring areas such as Abu Dhabi city centre, the airport, Yas Island & Saadiyat Island, and on to Dubai. Ferries, jet cats, water taxis, abras and private boats will cruise between the numerous inlets and canals, reflecting the true spirit of this waterfront destination. The development features eleven precincts, each with its own distinct personality and appeal. Those are: Al Zeina, Khor Al Raha, Al Bandar, Al Seef, Al Dana, Al Rumaila, Al Zahiya, Al Lissayli, Al Shaleela, Al Razeen, and Al Thurayya

Al Raha Beach Precincts: Al Zeina: Described as the ‘garden city’, Al Zeina is a quiet corner of Al Raha Beach located at its eastern end. Premium villas, townhouses and apartments sit amid terraced gardens overflowing with plants and flowers, fronted by a charming beach. Local shops, restaurants and cafés, a school and community facilities complete the neighbourhood. Set among the terraces, some beach villas have their own garden and swimming pool. Behind these, taller buildings of luxurious balconied apartments, duplexes and penthouses look out over the villas to the beach. Verdant landscaping dominates Al Zeina, combining courts, avenues and pools that cascade through the development. Al Zeina mainly will have homeware shops with a nail bar, a pharmacy, a coffee shop, a supermarket and other F & B concepts.

Khor Al Raha At the eastern mouth of the Grand Canal running through Al Raha Beach is the secluded precinct of Khor Al Raha. Here, down each side of the canal, apartments and townhouses are interspersed with lush gardens and trees. Luxury and style characterizes the exclusive residential district of Al Muneera, a gated community of freehold apartments, townhouses and villas which includes a small island edged by a pretty beach. Set back from the island’s seafront promenade are villas and smaller townhouses, with two circular apartment buildings at the centre. From the single office tower opposite the island, a pedestrian bridge directs visitors straight to the beachfront lined with cafés, restaurants.

Al Bandar Al Bandar is little island set around a marina, and a home to plush glass apartments & duplexes, chic loft-style residences and family apartments, with balconies and a waterside as all cars crossing the bridge are directed straight into a large underground parking area. Visitors may stroll down to the plaza with its water feature. Below the loft features a mix of restaurants and lifestyle retails with a weekend open-air market outside. As well as enjoying the waterfront lifestyle, residents have a choice of sports, pools, gyms, saunas, steam rooms and exercise studios. Beyond, the buildings’ private boat moorings stretch out into the marina.

Al Seef: Al Seef is the lively precinct of Al Raha Beach, where the Grand Canal runs through a large, vibrant entertainment district that includes three islands. Its layout mixes commercial properties, hotels, retail and recreation, with a variety of residences: Contemporary apartments, family townhouses and exclusive family canal-side villas, the Floral Promenade along the canal is the focus of excitement by day and night. Landscaped and shaded by trees, it is interspersed with seating, gardens and picturesque fountains inside the circular pedestrian bridges, including the Crescendo water feature. Strolling along the promenade, visitors can wander the shops, dining outlets, entertainment and retail terrace. This vivacious precinct also hosts venues for entertainment and civic events, with the local LRT station situated on the main boulevard. Offshore are three islands, two of which include luxury private developments.

Al Dana: Set around a spectacular circular marina, Al Dana will be at the heart of the Al Raha Beach development. Located at the mid-point for water transport along the development, Al Dana’s Marina provides a major transit stop for ferries, jet cats, water taxis and abras, with space for boat-owners to berth their craft. Al Dana has been designed to include masterplanned communication infrastructure incorporating Al Raha Beach’s main canal and road network and will be served by the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system with 3 stations serving the precinct in addition to bus services and park and ride facilities. Furthermore, ample underground car parking will be provided to serve the needs of visitors and residents alike. Designed by world-class architects and masterplanned to encompass over 160,000 sqm of ofﬁce accommodation integrated with luxury residential, retail and hotel and leisure facilities, Al Dana will also be the home of Aldar’s new corporate headquarters within HQ, ensuring that the precinct becomes the most prestigious regional business address. Al Dana’s location, which provides immediate access to the Emirates’ highway network, will ensure corporate occupiers can swiftly reach Abu Dhabi Island in less than 15 minutes, and Al Ain, Jebel Ali and Dubai all within an hour travel time. Abu Dhabi International Airport can be reached within 10 minutes providing unequalled ease of access to the wider Gulf region and beyond.

Al Rumaila: Al Rumaila is a residential island relatively traditional in its architecture, incorporating serviced apartments and a hotel with leisure amenities. Life here is ideal for those seeking an exclusive unhurried lifestyle. A central landmark hotel and apartment tower adds a grand, contemporary touch. The colour scheme of the apartment buildings reflects natural materials, continued in decorative panels and landscaping, while the waterfront environment features rustic timber boardwalks and potted plants along the wharf edge.

Al Zahiya: The large district of Al Zahiya is designed in harmony with nature. At its heart is an extensive park next to the beach, encompassing a lake. Behind and to each side, tall residential and hotel towers overlook the park and water beyond. Al Zahiya’s park is the largest in Al Raha Beach. Easily accessible by water taxi from all the precincts of Al Raha Beach, the park affords space for picnics and recreation, with pavilions set amongst the landscaping, housing cafés and shops, and a network of shaded pathways to enjoy the whole site. Al Lissayli: Al Lissaily’s traditional landscaped timber wharf environment includes extensive public areas, with large promenades fronting the Arabian Gulf. A network of interconnecting boardwalks and bridges link the waterfront to the inner canal areas as well as the Al Zahiya precinct to the south. The precinct is largely residential, with luxury apartment blocks enjoying a prime location along the waterfront. Behind, residential towers concentrated at strategic locations allow views through from the high-rise buildings on Al Zahiya. Neighbourhood retail services are centered on the water transport connections at the east and west ends.

Al Shaleela Al Shaleela is a great cultural precinct in the development, augmenting an existing theatre with additional performance spaces, galleries and art studios. There are apartment buildings rising to 42 storeys, and two to three-storey waterfront commercial developments for a variety of uses, their ground floors housing creative office space & studios, local cafés and restaurants. The high standard of contemporary eclectic architecture features a series of layered and interlocking forms, encompassing multiple volumes of space that will inspire the imagination of the creative media and arts community. Al Shaleela will continue the formality of Al Razeen but transforms to a more public realm consisting of residential, commercial, retail and cultural uses. These buildings terrace up over multiple changes of levels to form a traditional hill village with ultramodern facilities.

Al Razeen: The ‘Arabian Water District’ of Al Razeen presents secluded luxury villas on an island parallel to Al Shaleela. Among the formal water features, the traditional residences are built in the Arabic majlis style but adding a contemporary touch, with colonnades, arcades and galleries around a central courtyard. The series of grand Arabesque courtyards are bordered by water gardens, water channels and pavilions and connected by an intricate network of walkways and bridges.

Al Thurayya: At the west end of Al Raha Beach, Al Thurayya is the focus of the development’s marine activity, and home to waterfront apartments and villas set back from a marina. The residential buildings and the neighbourhood shopping centre are spaced among a landscaped district of promenades and water features. There is a Civil Defence building and a school to the south of the tree-lined boulevard, with easy access to the LRT terminal at the heart of this precinct. Al Thurayya includes marine service facilities and a dry dock. The marina will have a ferry terminal and docking station for jet cats, water taxis and abras, enabling residents and tourists to travel to all parts of the Al Raha Beach development and further afield to downtown Abu Dhabi.

http://www.aldar.com http://www.alrahabeach.com