Case Study: Foster + Partners improves social distancing analysis for South Sabah Al-Ahmad City with Oasys MassMotion

Foster + Partners reduces close-proximity pedestrian time by 50% with Oasys MassMotion

Foster + Partners, a global architecture and design studio, faced the challenge of planning South Sabah Al-Ahmad City in Kuwait to ensure resident wellbeing and accommodate new social distancing requirements. To investigate the impact of these requirements on pedestrian movement and test mitigation scenarios for the city's master plan, they utilized Oasys Software's pedestrian simulation product, Oasys MassMotion.

Using the proximity analysis feature of Oasys MassMotion, the designers simulated pedestrian flows to understand how people would move within a two-metre distance of each other. This allowed them to test residential density against public open space. A key finding was that by extending shaded canopies to pavements, the time users spent in close proximity was reduced by 50%. The solution from Oasys enabled Foster + Partners to effectively evaluate design strategies and clearly portray their data-driven findings to the client.

Foster + Partners