← Selected work/Architectural design

Urban Pulse

An urban-stair intervention that combines landscape, shade and water-related systems to make a stepped public route more useful and welcoming.

Type: ELMA competition · First place
Location / Context: Jabal Al-Zuhour, Amman
Collection: Architectural design
Project archive: Design studies, renders & 4 portfolio sheets

Urban Pulse — original numbered opening spread

The design narrative

Project overview.

A neighbourhood stair becomes a proposed network of planted, shaded places to pause. Runoff management and everyday public use inform the same design.

Urban regenerationWater harvestingFirst place

01 / Reading the stair

A route shaped by water and daily life.

Rainwater runoff interrupts an important pedestrian connection. The analysis considers residents, occasional visitors and the experience of climbing between neighbourhood levels.

Urban Pulse analysis of neighbourhood residents, city visitors and wider users — Users and scales of use

Analysis of the existing stair route, transitions and disconnected public space — Existing stair experience

02 / A repeatable public-space element

The Tree Unit.

A branching canopy, planting and seating form a modular social pause. Repeated along the stair, the unit connects environmental infrastructure with a more welcoming public route.

Urban Pulse final Tree Unit proposal with planted branching canopies, stone stairs and seating — Urban Pulse / Tree Unit proposal / ELMA 2026

Illustrated Tree Unit showing branching canopy and cascading planting — Tree Unit concept

People gathering and resting beneath planted Tree Units — A shaded place to pause

Overhead site plan showing Tree Units, planting beds and pedestrian circulation — Site plan and stair sequence

03 / System and assembly

From canopy to collection.

Exploded assemblies and sections describe roof layers, drainage, collection and integration with the existing stair.

Exploded assembly showing planted roof layers, structural frame and water collection — Pergola assembly

Technical section through the proposed Tree Unit collection core and roof layers — Hydraulic core section

Dimensioned section showing the Tree Unit and water collection within the existing stair — Integration with the stair

Urban Pulse / Project film

Experience the route.

Urban Pulse on YouTube ↗

Project development / ELMA archive

From hillside to public space.

Selected development views document the planted stairs, shade structures and route through Jabal Al-Zuhour.

Aerial view of the Urban Pulse stair route in Jabal Al-Zuhour — The stair in its hillside context

Stone steps, planting and modular pergolas — Modular shade and planted steps

People using the shaded planted stair route — A shared route through the neighbourhood

Landscape and shade framing the public stair — Landscape along the climb

Recognition / Team achievement

First Place — ELMA 2026

Urban Pulse, the proposal for Jabal Al-Zuhour Stairs, received first place in the Environmental Legacy Makers Award. Mohammad Azab participated as part of the winning team.

Mohammad Azab and the Urban Pulse team receiving the ELMA award in Amman — The ELMA award presentation · Amman, 2026. Photograph from the original project portfolio.

His public LinkedIn update describes receiving the award at Ras El Ain Hangar in Amman.

LinkedIn profile & public updates ↗

Team: Mohammad Azab, Ahmad Alhadidii, Raghad El-Sheikh, Razan Al-amad and Nermin Alkhatib. This award and proposal are credited as a collaborative achievement.

In the press