Oman Botanic Garden to Begin Trial Run in 2024
Designed to celebrate the country’s botanic diversity, the garden is the largest of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula.
Situated in Al Khoud village, around 35 kilometres from Muscat, the Oman Botanic Garden celebrates unique plants, landscapes and cultural traditions native to Oman. Sitting on a 420-hectare protected natural area at the foot of the Al Hajar Mountains, the Oman Botanic Garden will be the largest in the Arabian Peninsula and amongst the largest in the world.
With a design led by Arup and Grimshaw and Haley Sharpe Design, the garden will conserve Oman’s botanic diversity within two biomes, containing the country’s most endangered and endemic flora. Surrounded by the northern mountains of Oman, the site is one of a handful in the world where the ancient sea bed is visible.
“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,” Keith Brewis, Partner at Grimshaw, tells SceneHome. The visitor experience was designed to allow visitors to make their way through the gardens, exploring all the flora of the Sultanate.
Oman Botanic Garden consists of five main buildings, including the Dhofar Mountains Greenhouse and the Hajar Mountains Greenhouse (which are linked with a suspended pedestrian bridge), as well as the Renewable Energy Centre, the Environment Centre, the Visitor Centre, the VIP building and the vehicle parking building.
Different habitats are sensitively arranged at the centre of the site, showcasing native plant species in a series of carefully created naturalistic habitats from the dry deserts to the rich monsoon cloud forests. The garden will also showcase traditionally cultivated crops and the ways that they’re used in Oman.
The impact of the garden was immediate, even prior to its opening. It contributed to discovering 20 exclusive plant species that are found only in Oman. With its passive and active shading, UV light controls, cooling and plant irrigation and architectural design which responds to atmospheric conditions and the natural topography, the garden is set to become a landmark in Oman which explains plans to shift the country’s Natural History Museum to its facilities.
The trial run of Oman Botanic Garden will begin in 2024 with most of its facilities completed.
Images Credit: Arup & Grimshaw
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