After five decades of rampant growth Oman is challenged to rethink its urbanization patterns.
The continuous expansion of the footprint in major cities as the method the response to the
increasing housing demands has reached its limits. The attempts to revert the current scenario
by introducing more efficient housing typologies in terms of land use are not attractive for
the locals who are still attached to the dream of owning a single-family villa. DOCS explores a
set of methods to generate alternative typologies that lead to more compact growth while
addressing cultural issues. Dr -Ing. Gustavo de Siqueira is Associate Professor of the Urban
Planning and Architectural Design of the German University of Technology in Oman. He is the
project leader of the Where Oman Walks initiative AKA the WOW project. WOW aims to create more
active built environments in the residential neighborhoods in Oman employing a collaborative
design approach. Iman Al Ofi is a Research and Teaching Assistant at UPAD department of the
German University of Technology in Oman and a WOW team member. Sadmira Malaj holds a master's
degree in urban planning. She is currently working as Assistant Lecturer and Researcher at
Polis University in the areas of Transportation infrastructure and its Impact on the built
environment. Aya Al Mohammed is an Urban Planner Architectural Designer and researcher. She
is currently working at Target Oilfield Services as an Urban Development Engineer and is a
former member of the WOW project. Kai Giesler holds a master's degree in Architecture of the
RWTH Aachen and is a former member of the WOW project. Amal Al Balushi holds a master's degree
of the Transforming cities and regions program of the RWTH Aachen and is a former member of the
WOW project.
