Office P11, Msheireb Downtown DohaImages1 / Information
Location Doha, Qatar
Status Completed 2019
Description
As part of a prestigious team of UK architects who collaborated on the Msheireb Downtown Doha masterplan - establishing a new civic centre in the historical capital city Doha - Squire & Partners designed six buildings including a six-storey office development on site P11.
The building addresses both the Msheireb Prayer Ground and the pedestrianised Sikkat Wadi Msheireb. Together with the Alwadi Hotel Doha, the office development acts as a gateway between the Souk Waqif and Downtown Doha. Inspired by a traditional prayer book, the facades feature suspended stone ‘pages’ that open and close to modulate sunlight and vary views both outward and inward. Perforated bronze panels behind the fins are inspired by the pearl fishing trades of Qatar.
Msheireb Downtown Doha required the creation of a new vernacular rooted in Qatari culture, which the practice responded to by fusing traditional Qatari architecture with a modern and sustainable approach to design. Designs responded to the masterplan guide which took cues from historic proportions, simple forms, informal arrangement of buildings, active rooftops, the use of layering and ornamentation to modify light, and a strong emphasis on sustainability responding to the challenges of the local environment.
Team
Masterplan Architect Allies & Morrison
Co-Masterplanners Arup
Co-Masterplanners AECOM
Engineers Buro Happold
Project Manager Turner International Middle East
Quantity Surveyor Gleeds
Delivery Architect Gensler
Photographer Hufton + Crow
Save Project