Tantalising details have emerged about a huge regeneration masterplan in Basra, which will see an entirely new vertical city extend up into the clouds.

The ambitious scheme is described by its designers – AMBS Architects – as “the first vertical city in the world, the tallest structure in the world and a groundbreaking project in all disciplines of engineering.”

Named ‘The Bride’, the development is conceived as a round-the-clock city featuring entire neighbourhoods, commercial centres, leisure amenities, public parks and even its own vertical rail network. It is the biggest component of a new downtown masterplan commissioned by the Basra Government to maximise the city’s capacity by 2025.

As Basra is surrounded by natural oil reserves and resource-rich protected landscapes, planners have made avoiding an urban sprawl the top priority of the masterplan, explaining the need to develop upwards rather than outwards.

To meet these criteria, AMBS – who are based in London and the Middle East – have proposed a 1.5 million sq m (16m sq ft) development. The largest aspect of the masterplan will be centred around four stable conjoined towers; the largest of which will be a record-breaking 964m (3,000ft) high – taller than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

The towers will be built using repetitions in the structure and materials used in a bid to lower costs, and AMBS said no usable space will be wasted. Each tower will be connected at many levels to create sky gardens and sky plazas. For security reasons, multiple access and escape routes have been designed both horizontally and vertically.

In an exclusive interview with CLAD, AMBS director Marcos De Andres stated that despite its unorthodox layout, the city has been designed as one huge public space to improve the lives of residents and visitors alike.

He said: “‘The Bride’ will be a place enjoyed by all. It will be used by thousands of people in endless different ways – in it, on it or under it. From walking in the vast shaded parks and promenades at ground level, to having lunch or shopping in a sky square hundreds of metres above sea level.”

“It is not an object in the distance that doesn’t do much for the urban context of the city and its people,” he added. “Basra was once the most beautiful city on the Arabian gulf – famous for its cosmopolitan flair, cuisine, arts, dance and music. This project will bring back this rich and varied culture. It will send a message to the international community that Iraq is back in business.”

Basra is speculated by some religious scholars to be the location for the Garden of Eden, and the local government wanted the project to represent the giving and sustaining of life. This has influenced the architectural approach of the designers.

In a statement, AMBS said: “We have taken on the challenge to build a city that produces as much energy as it consumes and can be independent to Basra’s electrical grid. To reduce carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, natural daylight must be optimised whilst minimising solar heat gain. The most logical intervention is to simply create shade.”

To achieve this, the designers have worked with engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald to create ‘The Veil’ – a 600,000sq m (6.5m sq ft) canopy extending off the tallest tower and covering the low-rise buildings and public areas below in shade. Photovoltaic solar panels will generate power and also feed absorption chillers driving the city’s cooling cycle.

Planning is currently underway to decide how much of the development will be dedicated to leisure, residential and office space. A project budget has not been disclosed, but De Andres said revenues generated by the city are likely to “far exceed the costs”.

Basra contains the bulk of Iraq’s oil reserves and Iraq’s main port, making it one of the fastest-growing business centres in the world and an in-demand location for property developers and investors.

Despite this, De Andres insisted to CLAD that ‘The Bride’ will remain first and foremost a project for the people. He said: “This is an important social development, unlike any other project in the world. Despite being the world’s tallest structure, the design is not a gimmick or an architectural statement, like some super-tall towers. This is for the people of Basra.”

It seems that architects and masterplanners are increasingly looking to the skies for inspiration. Architects OMA and Buro Ole Scheeren recently won the Building of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival for ‘Interlace’, a vertical village in Singapore.