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The 1.4 billion phase one plan begun in 2006 is now complete. Masdar Institute is said to be the heart of the city, as everything else was secondary. There are also six main buildings, an electronic library, 101 small apartments and one street. Green Big Brother monitors energy consumption throughout the city, keeping track of every human and mechanical action requiring electricity.
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167 students and 43 academics, most of whome are from other countries, now call Masdar City home. Creature comforts on campus include: an organic food shop, a bank, a sushi bar, and a canteen. Subterranean travel is provided via driverless vehicles along the 800 meters spanning from the entrance of the city to the offshoot campus of the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology (MIT). The sustainable palmwood panels pictured above can be found at each of the four entrances, channeling cooling air through internal passages.
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222 additional apartments as well as more shopping and streets, were added during phase two. Masdar City is also home to the new International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Projectionsindicate 7,000 residents inhabiting the city by 2015 along with 12,000 Abu Dhabi commuters.
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Students say it's easier adapting to the technology than the setting, as the flat, dusty landscape surrounding the beautiful city stretches out to the horizon. That dust and more specifically, dust storms, can cut solar insolation by as much as 30%, necessitating the hand-cleaning of the photovoltaic panels outside the city.
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Masdar was intended to be the world's first zero-carbon city, but plans changed with the recession. The original goal to accomodate 50,000 residents shifted to 40,000 and a projected completion date in 2025 has replaced the optimistic 2016 deadline. Plans for a second Masdar City and a solar manufacturing plant have been shelved as well. Yet when all is said and done, Masdar City is still a technological masterpiece sure to dazzle time and again as the city grows and Masdar Institute produces some of the brightest and greenest minds in the world.
