NYUAD – Academic Hub and Community Heart by Cracknell
United Arab Emirates / Built in 2025 /
cracknell.com
The Problem
In the heart of Abu Dhabi, creating a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive academic landscape for a globally diverse community was no small feat. New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) needed more than a campus, it needed a living, breathing ecosystem to withstand harsh climate conditions while supporting intellectual freedom, cultural exchange, and an evolving community.
The challenge goes beyond the heat. How do you cultivate outdoor life in a sun-drenched environment where social spaces risk becoming sterile? How do you connect people across academic, residential, spiritual, and creative layers without losing the intimacy of a traditional campus? And how do you build an identity for a university drawing students from 120+ countries, blending NYUAD’s global outlook within the UAE’s local context?
The Solution
Our solution creates a holistic landscape that breathes and evolves. A landscape curated for shade, movement, learning, and belonging. Cracknell developed a landscape vision that transformed NYUAD into a high quality, walkable public realm surrounded by generous open community space enlivened with diverse year-round neighbourhood facilities and activities.
Central to the vision is the use of wind, water and shade to enhance microclimatic conditions. From the grand palm court to intimate garden courtyards to shaded seating pods, the NYUAD landscape invites exploration, interaction, and contemplation. A series of elevated walkways connect residential buildings with collaborative sky-gardens and viewing platforms, enhancing sociable living & promoting wellness through movement and visual connection.
The 11.5ha campus is the heart of a 27.2ha wider community precinct. However, the surrounding open space and activated streetscapes are where community life thrives: flexible outdoor areas double as gathering and event spaces, active and passive parkland activities enrich community life, F+B streetscape frontages activate and energise the wider district with a youthful pulse. Life radiates from the campus into the city, inviting participation in events, dialogue, and cultural exchange.
The Process That Led to the Final Design
Cracknell has been embedded in the NYUAD journey since its inception. Appointed in 2010, CLL led the landscape design across all phases from the initial concept through to the current state of completion in 2025. This enduring involvement ensures a consistent design language and a landscape that evolved in step with the university’s growth.
The design began with a blank slate on Saadiyat Islands Eastern Cultural District. Working alongside the project architects, Cracknell embedded the principles of connectivity, sustainability, and cultural resonance into the campus and the adjacent masterplanned community precincts. Inspired by Islamic Garden traditions, the design marries cultural heritage with design excellence and innovation.
The contrast between evolving design geometries became the campus’s visual and spatial DNA & symbols for education, wellbeing, inclusivity, and innovation as response to climate. A decade-long presence allowed new phases to seamlessly integrate into the whole. Post-occupancy feedback, user engagement, and evolving needs have informed every design iteration, keeping the campus dynamic and relevant for future generations.
Why This Project Should Be Awarded
NYUAD’s landscape and community integration showcases a responsive framework for learning, living, and social connectivity in a city with one of the world’s most extreme climates. Its quiet achievements underpin its success:
Social Impact: People from around the world meet in shaded walkways, courtyards and gardens. A pedestrian-first layout dissolves boundaries between disciplines and cultures encouraging casual collaboration that extends into the community.
Environmental Intelligence: The NYUAD precinct showcases sustainable water use, achieving 2L/m²/day through smart irrigation, native planting, and climate-responsive systems.
Spatial Connectivity: Walkability and active transport promote movement and interaction from elevated bridges to integrated cycle paths to shaded walkways. Form and function are deeply integrated, making navigation intuitive and memorable.
Legacy Driven Design: Cracknell’s ongoing role from 2010 to present ensured design continuity, evolution, and authenticity. This rare legacy allowed the landscape to mature alongside the institution it serves.
Invisible Performance: The greatest triumph is subtlety. Every detail effortlessly supports life outdoors by creating comfort, shade, breeze and pause.
NYUAD as an academic hub sets a new standard for creating educational environments in extreme climates and expanding their role in the heart of urban neighbourhood life. It reflects long-term thinking, cultural sensitivity, and ecological wisdom, a landscape that doesn’t just support education but inspires it and radiates that energy outward into a thriving, inclusive community fabric.
• Architecture offices involved in the design:
Rafael Vinoly Architects
• Other credits:
Other consultants:
Engineering: A&D Studio Engineering Consultants, Canadian Road Transportation and Civil Engineering Consultancy
Signage and Wayfinding: Brimaxx Consultancy DMCC
Client: New York University Abu Dhabi; Tamkeen
