Foster + Partners, working in collaboration with Petrolina Group, has revealed the design of a new master plan to transform the seafront of Larnaca, Cyprus, into a sustainable and enjoyable area for the city residents, future generations, and new visitors. The resort town of Larnaca aims to redesign one of its main arteries, the Larnaca-Dhekelia Road, to become more pedestrian-friendly, along with its seafront. Foster’s proposal aims to enhance the land’s ecological value and to double the length of the waterfront accessible to the public.
The new development is coherent with the existing urban fabric, while striving to become a catalyst for the expansion of the city towards the north. Different elements of the master plan will be linked via tree-lined streets and landscaped plazas. The city’s existing water canals are proposed to be rewilded to expand the available habits fir local wildlife and to bring additional greenery towards the coastline. The existing highway, the Larnaca-Dhekelia Road, will also suffer transformations to help it become more pedestrian-friendly, with dedicated spaces and new public amenities added.
The new development is located between ecological zones that connect inland areas with the coastline. These new parts of the city are set to be developed with low-rise buildings adapted to the human scale, as a way of creating a natural extension of the existing urban grain. The industrial heritage of the city is also taken into consideration, as industrial artifacts will be kept and repurposed to activate the urban realm.
These interventions aim to create new opportunities for the residents, to activate the coastline and further develop the local blue economy. Foster + Partners is also collaborating with city authorities to develop a larger mobility strategy to connect the master plan area with the rest of the city and the wider regions.
The master plan retains and enhances the city’s character while creating an exciting new vision for its future. Our approach has been developed in close consultation with the city authorities, building on the municipality’s key initiatives, which promote sustainable and holistic urban growth. – Ben Scott, Senior Partner at Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners is also acting as Architectural Advisors for the development of The Global City, an all-inclusive neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Another master plan developed by the international architectural office, the Dogpatch mixed-use waterfront development in San Francisco, has recently broken ground. Additionally, in December 2022, Norman Foster, through the Norman Foster Foundation, announced an initiative to design a master plan for the reconstruction of the war-torn city of Kharkiv, Ukraine.
