From Concept to Tender, Preserving Architectural Intent
Sultan Haitham City is a major urban development led by Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, planned as a new model for sustainable and integrated neighbourhood living in Muscat.
Within this wider city framework, the Disabled Rehabilitation Centre is planned for Neighbourhood 16, a government run facility that is designed to work as part of the neighbourhood centre and its surrounding public services.
Engicon’s role
Engicon was appointed as sub consultant to Ibn Khaldun Al Madaen Engineering Consultancy (IKAM) to carry the received architectural concept forward into design development and tender documentation.
The concept design was developed by Panter Hudspith Architects, with Engicon’s scope focusing on interpreting the concept into a buildable, code-compliant project aligned with Oman’s building standards, budget constraints, and construction feasibility requirements.
Design intent
From the outset, the project brief positions the centre as more than an educational destination. It is conceived to function as a community-facing asset, with a strong emphasis on accessibility, wellbeing, and a close relationship to landscape and daylight.
The concept also focuses on flexibility, so that therapy, education, vocational training, and shared facilities can operate together as a wholesome unit, without creating confusion or an institutional experience.
Planning moves in the concept
The preferred planning approach is organised around linked courtyards and gardens, using outdoor space as a navigational anchor with added social buffers between departments. Option C is formed as L shaped floor plates that wrap around communal gardens, so each department can operate with clarity while remaining connected to shared common areas.
A central shaded courtyard is positioned as a public facing threshold, connecting reception and administration to shared amenities such as the cafe, gym, and assembly and meeting spaces intended for community use during off hours.
Vertical movement is supported by lifts, but the concept also uses a gently sloping ramp route as a primary circulation experience, continuing up through the levels to a roof garden and creating a continuous indoor outdoor connection across the building.
Design development focus
Engicon’s design development effort is centred on making this concept tender-ready without diluting its architectural intent. That typically means coordinating the structural and MEP implications of the multi level ramped circulation, the courtyard microclimate strategy, and the mix of high service therapy functions with public community functions. It also means aligning department layouts, back of house servicing, and drop-off and access logic with safe and seamless movement for users, families, staff, and visitors.
Muscat’s Urban Growth Strategy
Conceived by Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning as a first step in a broader shift in the country’s urban development, Sultan Haitham City is positioned to complement Muscat through planned expansion rather than dispersed growth.
The project’s stated intent is to deliver a compact, mixed-use pattern of neighbourhoods, where schools, health and civic services are embedded early and are accessible as part of everyday life. Placing strong emphasis on public utilisation, greenery, and new mobility choices, the city is framed as a practical model for how Muscat can grow while maintaining quality of life, cultural continuity, and more efficient infrastructure over time.
