A brief background to planning in Qatar

This page of notes is intended to relate to the history of physical planning in Qatar. Comments should be read in the light of their historical context rather than with regard to either what exists today or to modern planning orthodoxy as, like much else, the profession of planning has moved on and is now a far more complex operation than it used to be. Nowadays a greater range of issues are examined, utilising a wider range of techniques, and more people are aware not just of the process and their place within it, but of the likely results of alternative decisions. In considering the history of planning and its development within the State it would be useful to have read the notes dealing with the socio-cultural background to the region as the traditional way of deciding on anything having an impact on individuals and groups was through the majlis system. In fact it is argued that to some extent this may still be the case and is an area that creates conflict, again an issue dealt with elsewhere.

I should add that I am not aware of all the consultancy work that was carried out in Qatar, and that there are likely to be errors of omission and commission on this subject. Please do not take these notes as being authoritative.

There is a particularly important issue to be aware of when considering planning, one that has been absent from many fundamental considerations. It must be borne in mind that the planning concepts generally being applied in the peninsula have been developed in the West and, to a large extent are reflections of Western preconceptions and responses to issues seen and developed from a Western perspective. Historically planning was seen to involve physical entities that were readily measured and manipulated. Some emphasis was given to urban design, or the look of streets, but little was taken into consideration with regard to the people who would be moved around. They were considered to be a homogenous resource used to fill the various land uses. Nor was much done to deal with issues arising from their particular socio-cultural characteristics. This issue was particularly true when working abroad but, hopefully, this is changing. But today the issues taxing planners relate increasingly to sustainability and environmental concerns. While the latter is relatively easy to define, sustainability tends to be seen in physical terms and, again, does not deal with people. This really has to be understood.

As the country began to develop after the Second World War, the natural resources of Qatar – chiefly oil and gas as there are no adequate alternative resources – were seen to be steadily depleting as they were converted into revenue to the State. That revenue was perceived to be of two sorts: those which produced funds that were converted into infrastructural development of one sort or another, and those that were transformed into revenue generating assets designed to provide income in compensation for the steadily depleting resources. Because of the complete dependency of the State’s economy on oil and gas it was considered necessary to extend them in terms of value and time as far as possible into the future. This was a common theme in countries rich in these resources and concerned about what they perceived to be threats from the West, leading to the establishing of OPEC in 1960, with Qatar joining in 1961.

This the State endeavoured to do by reducing the amount of finance abstracted for economic diversification, and by optimising the sources of energy for the development of its industries. However, in the nineteen eighties they found themselves to some extent at the mercy of external forces that they were unable to control. Additionally, having an expensively operating infrastructure to maintain, the State then found itself expending an increasing amount of its income without being able to reinforce its income generating capabilities.

Qatar’s success in developing itself at that time was commonly seen as being implicitly dependent upon its industrialising on the basis of oil and gas. This policy saw the gradual conversion from the exporting of crude oil and liquefied natural gas to the downstream activities of petrochemicals, fertilizers and energy consuming industrial processes. However, the ability of the State to respond to controlling its future was limited to a large extent by other States, particularly those in the Gulf with similar problems. This concern for unavoidable competition, encouraged the consideration of extensive co-operation between the States. To this end a number of political initiatives were embarked upon while realising that the character of the problem would require long term international co-operative development.

The Industrial Development Technical Centre was established to advise government on strategies for developing industry in the State, despite there being no comprehensive development plan. Housing, education, health and other social welfare policies were actively pursued and it was felt that the process of industrialisation was successful, if prudent.

While the government of Qatar generally saw itself as responsible for the direction of the economy as well as for the character, location and pace of development, the strategies for development are notionally decided at the highest levels of government, in theory through the Council of Ministers, established in 1972, and then directed to the relevant government departments.

But there were difficulties in the operation of this system. Control of the State has developed naturally as an extension of the responsibilities of leadership of a small community to the State which exists today. Government staff will suggest that this appears to inhibit them from taking necessary decisions at lower levels of government, with a consequent effect upon efficiency and its smooth running. In this it can be seen that there is conflict between the method of organisation of a modern State and the traditional administrative and management mechanisms practised by the Qataris. This conflict is not irresolvable, but the changes needed when moving from a small introverted society to a larger one in which the expatriates greatly outnumber the nationals and which is notionally if not actually based on modern international lines, was bound to introduce difficulties both in terms of responses at international levels but, more particularly, within the developing society and its evolving administrative organisations.

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The first steps in planning within Qatar

Planning, as a Western concept relating to national or strategic physical planning, began in Qatar at the beginning of the nineteen seventies. Following discussions between the British Embassy and representatives of the State, the planning company of Llewelyn-Davies, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor was invited to send a team to begin the process of developing a plan for the State. The plan was intended to be strategic and produce goals, objectives and standards that would enable the State to move forward within a sensible and sensitive framework for decision making.

Prior to this time, the planning of physical development was effectively controlled through the traditional majlis system, though the institution of Western-style ministries was beginning. Ostensibly, planning for the country was the province of the Ministry of Finance and Petroleum Affairs, as they were in charge of the increasing revenues from the winning of oil and gas. Excluding the Office of H.H. The Amir and the military, the other agencies with an interest in planning were:

• Ministry of Public Works – roads, sewerage, drainage, public buildings and infrastructure development,
• Ministry of Electricity and Water – manufacture and delivery of water and electricity,
• Ministry of Transport and Communications – telephone systems,
• Ministry of Justice – land registration,
• Ministry of the Interior – road design and signalling, and the
• Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs – public housing,
• Ministry of Municipal Affairs – planning, building regulations, soft and some hard landscaping, and some public buildings and works.

Industrial development, particularly on a large scale, was directed by the Industrial Development and Technical Centre – the IDTC – which nominally came under the aegis of the Amir’s Office. The Ministry of Agriculture and Industry was also involved in the direction of industrial development, and the Chamber of Commerce maintained an interest in this area as well as in commercial areas of development.

Effectively, there had been physical planning of a sort, but it was directed and carried out from the Ministry of Public Works, its planning being based upon rationalising a road structure – together with drainage and sewerage – that would facilitate the development of the country along the perceived needs of the nineteen-sixties. The Ministry of Electricity and Water were planning in a similar way, with a degree of coordination between them and the Ministry of Public Works, but one that was difficult to integrate fully due to the lack of an overall plan as well as the different strategies employed by the different ministries. But the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, who were responsible for building regulations, wished to enlarge the scope of their interests to encompass planning throughout the country, and this they did with the introduction of the Llewelyn-Davies consultancy.

Before moving on it might be useful to mention how planning was or is perceived, and how this affected the way in which planning developed in the peninsula.

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What is meant by planning

Planning is focussed on the structures and processes crucial to providing or preparing for the future. What most people see, or are aware of, tend to be the visual aspects of planning. A common misconception of planning is that its purpose is to produce a static plan, a two- or three-dimensional framework governing the disposition of buildings and their uses together with the communication systems linking them. Perhaps this results from the time when Town Planning appeared to be focussed only on the physical aspects of urban development. An example of this might be characterised by the illustration here, for this is a common way in which the attributes of a development might best be illustrated to a client. Such a presentation is usually buttressed by additional descriptive drawings, generally perspectives taken from ground level together with aerial perspectives. A model is also a very common requirement, both by the client as well as by professionals. This is particularly true of urban design and architectural studies where the form and character of buildings may be readily appreciated. The fact is that diagrams, drawings and models are an easily understood demonstration of the results of a planning process, but they are not the process and are likely to be constructed in the presented form.

Planning is a continuous process; it can not stand still as there is a continuous interaction between process and its effects. Essentially, planning is the allocation of resources, a process that is seen by many commentators as being driven by political imperative. They argue that it is only politicians who are able to bring together the legislation, organisation and directives necessary to implement planning goals and objectives. It is further argued that only they can articulate what those goals and objectives should be. Moreover, politicians tend to be those who have, or believe they have, vision. In this sense, planning should be understood as a political process, albeit a process ostensibly founded on parameters considered to benefit everybody and improve the different circumstances under which they live.

As described earlier, prior to the first planning team’s arrival in Qatar, planning was seen essentially as a practical process aimed mainly at the distribution of electricity, water and sewerage systems around Doha and the smaller towns within the peninsula, based on a hierarchical road system. Funding was through the Ministry of Finance and was geared to the controls of funds from the increasing sale of Qatar’s resources of oil and gas, and their disbursement within and outside the State. At this time the State was beginning to assemble and staff ministries reflecting, in the main, those in the West, and it was here that the beginnings of change from the traditional systems of control and administration were experienced.

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The first plan

The first planning team was comprised of professionals covering a number of different specialities, and included strategic and urban planners, economists, socio-anthropologists, traffic engineers, landscape architects and urban designers, the intent being to make a comprehensive study of the country and its people, identify the different pressures that existed and might be foreseen, and make recommendations for the establishing of organisations capable of dealing with those pressures as well as creating an urban plan for Doha, the city showing significant signs of stress attributable to the new levels of wealth pouring into the country.

The government decided that this planning team would most sensibly or usefully be contracted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Day-to-day activities were monitored by the Doha Municipality who had yet to obtain their own planning staff, though they did have a small cadre of expatriate building inspectors carrying out rudimentary checks on new buildings. There was a standing issue in this regard between the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and that Ministry of Public Works, the provider of public houses and some government buildings.

Over their first year in Qatar the team carried out a significant range of studies in order to create a suitable basis for planning in the peninsula. One of the most important areas they worked on was a socio-anthropological study in order to obtain a better understanding of how the people of the peninsula lived and the manner in which the society operated and decisions made. The benefit this gave to the team was crucial to the production of a plan that would be workable.

Another significant study was the Traffic and Transportation Master Plan carried out by Peat Marwick Mitchell and Company, establishing a series of standards and a traffic structure that was intended to see Qatar to the end of the century. This work has been supplanted by later studies in order to deal with the greatly increased traffic now using Doha’s road system.

Other studies were carried out with regard to building fabric, transportation, economic and financial structures and the like. Another crucial element was the census that had been carried out in 1971, the year before the planning team began their work and which was made available to the team, a resource that was not available in later years. This immediately pointed up one of the characteristics of the Gulf states: that national populations were a minority in their own countries. The result of the studies was a range of papers together with a structure plan for Qatar and a similar plan for Doha together with local action plans for the areas where immediate change should be focussed.

The sketches above are illustrative plans for the centre of Doha, produced in 1973 and showing how development might be accomplished in five year increments between 1977 and 1992. While such sketches are not intended to be taken literally, it is obvious from them that the pace of development envisaged was nothing like that which quickly arrived.

The activities of the team, particularly in their need to work with the different government agencies, introduced the practicalities if not the concept of planning to those agencies. In certain respects this was similar to mentoring. It was evident that the concept of planning was not fully accepted by all and this problem was exacerbated as infrastructure development and demolition continued regardless of the plans being formulated as there was considerable pressure being placed on government by individuals and groups through the majlis system, as well as a degree of competition between the ministries to show benefit to the public.

During the early seventies the team continued their work, recommending changes in government structure and management, identifying action areas, developing phased plans for those areas, while attempting to maintain touch with the changing political framework and the rapidly increasing funds becoming available from the sale of oil.

The scale and pace of development increased and, with it, criticism and concern within government relating to poorly executed works and the availability of land for development. This latter issue was a reflection of the historical claims different tribes had on areas within the peninsula. Its main effect was to inhibit the government from developing where, and at the pace, it wished.

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The New District of Doha

By the mid-seventies the State was developing its infrastructure, but a number of problems, alluded to above, were becoming increasingly apparent. Doha was seeing development on its periphery, and the central area had been demolished in such a way as to make contiguous development difficult. This sketch shows urban Doha in the summer of 1975, a drawing that also shows the extent of the reclamation at that time being carried out between two bunds extended from the existing shore.

The Office of H.H. The Amir considered a number of approaches to identify a way in which some of the perceived problems might be approached. The most attractive were those associated with resolving a number of issues. At that time the West Bay of Doha was very shallow and was not cleansed by the water currents running down from the north. In this photograph, taken in the late 1940s, the three small reefs standing off the centre of Doha can be seen to the right and, on the left, the shallows associated with the coast to the east of al Markhiya and coming right down to Doha in the areas of Rumaillah and al Bida, the original centre of what is now Doha.

Land ownership was an issue in the peninsula generally due to tribal claims, but more so in and around major centres where land had an increasing commercial value. In the centre of Doha a small number of trading families such as Darwish and al Mana had frontage onto the sea where they were able to land and store cargoes.

I believe that legal ownership of littoral land extended for a hundred yards into the sea, which accounted for the location of the Corniche. Construction of the Corniche was effected with quarried stone as a lineal development, the area between the Corniche and the existing land being filled as a secondary activity in order to permit that land being developed. Initially much of this land belonged to private land owners, but the government negotiated with them in order to bring this land into State ownership. Something of the character can be seen on the page looking at the history of Qatar.

In the centre of Doha, immediately east of wadi Sail, government constructed separate meat, fish and vegetable markets and, further east, the Ministry of Education and the Courts building and then the Post Office, all on existing land or land filled adjacent to the wadi where, previously, boats were traditionally drawn up. The new land formed by the construction of the Corniche first had Government House and a number of government buildings including the Qatar National Bank built on it, culminating with an extension to Government House by Kenzo Tange, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly opposite the Office of H.H. The Amir on land once owned by the Darwish family.

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Creation of the New District of Doha

This first aerial colour photograph was taken in April 1974 and looks approximately south-east over the edge of the West Bay of Doha. The Diwan al Amiri can be seen at top right with the shallow waters of this part of the bay evident on which are some of the boats that traditionally moored there in the past. The colour photograph can be directly compared with the black and white image above which was taken eighteen years previously.

Due to a number of reasons, the decision was made to dredge the bay and, with the dredged material, reclaim a new area from the sea upon which government might develop. The Ministry of Public Works awarded the specialist dredging company, Bos Kalis Westminster, the contract to carry out the reclamation of a part of the West Bay, their activities being carried out from dredgers within the bay pumping the dredged material into the area planned for the New District. However, before they were able to begin their part of the contract it was necessary to begin the process of creating the edge of the area that was to become the New District of Doha. This first photograph shows a bulldozer and grader beginning the work adjacent to the existing land. That photograph was taken in April 1974, the second photograph showing the two bunds driven out into the bay having been taken in December 1974. These two bunds were made in order to create the shape of the New District of Doha, that on the right being the approximate line of the eventual Corniche, that on the left being the top of the planned Diplomatic Area. The island of al-Safliyah can be seen at the top of the second photograph. The third photograph shows the end of their pipeline in operation in November 1974, discharging the fill onto the New District.

The next two photographs were taken in March 1976 and show something of the work of the dredger in the West Bay. The first photograph looks approximately south-east over the bay, the second, approximately south. The dredger with its flexible pipeline can be seen left centre of the first photograph with the character of its dredging pattern clearly shown adjacent to the eventual Corniche in the foreground. The port sits near the top of the photograph with Ras Abu Aboud between it and the horizon. A temporary work area is shown bottom left of the photograph.

The second photograph is almost in line with Doha’s runway, top left, and with the main body of east Doha on the right horizon. It shows in the foreground the site for the planned Hotel and Conference Centre at the turning point of the planned New District of Doha showing that the fill was nearing completion.

This photograph, taken July 1978, in the north of the New District of Doha near al-Markhiyah, shows lorries of the Taxi Association depositing desert fill in an area difficult for the marine fill to reach. On this new area, of which at least 600 hectares of reclaimed land was obviously in government ownership, the State now had 2,000 hectares on which to build a number of facilities. But not only this; the State would also be able to develop standards relating to construction that were better than existing practice, and construct buildings that might be used as exemplars.

The American architectural and planning consultancy of William L. Pereira Associates was introduced on 1975 to assist in this process. By the end of that year they had produced the first in a series of planning studies known as the Concept Plan, and which would provide the outline for development of this area. The elements that were to be located in this area, now known as the New District of Doha – but by some as the West Bay or the Dafnah with its unfortunate connotations in Arabic – were:

• Qatar University,
• a regional park,
• Senior staff housing,
• Intermediate staff housing,
• a 500 bed hotel and conference centre,
• a diplomatic area,
• a ministries area,
• a district centre, and a
• central business district.

In addition to the planning of the New District of Doha, WLPA were also given the responsibility for planning the industrial town of Umm Said, that is all elements of it other than the industrial facilities themselves, this area coming under the jurisdiction of the Industrial Development and Technical Centre, itself coming under the aegis of the Office of H.H. The Amir.

The Office of H.H. The Amir would control all these projects, acting as client’s representative, planner and project manager of all the schemes through the medium of employing and supervising consultants to act on their behalf. But, as mentioned earlier, the opportunity would also be taken to establish high standards for development which would then be imposed on the departments in their work elsewhere in the State.

Llewelyn-Davies continued it work in the 1970s, but were being overtaken by events. The Municipality continued to bring in private consultancies to advise them, first Shankland Cox and then Dar al Handasah producing for them in 1981 and 1985 respectively, recommendations for the redevelopment of Doha.

In addition to the work noted above, the Office of H.H. The Amir was also responsible for reviewing and advising on major projects that were proposed by development ministries, particularly the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Public Works, thus preventing or reducing overlapping interests while ensuring projects of quality were sought and promoted. The New District of Doha was seen as an opportunity to establish high standards of design and construction within the State.

A number of other consultants were producing studies and projects for Doha as well as for the New District of Doha. Trevor Crocker and Partners made a study for the lagoon and regional park in the north of the NDOD, east of the new University, L.G. Mouchel and Partners were involved in a number of technical projects. White Young and Partners were responsible for a considerable amount of engineering projects with Westbury and Northcrofts, and Langdon and Every – both firms of Quantity Surveyors – controlling projects not only in the public sector, but also the private sector.

By 1981, as can be seen in this aerial photograph looking north-east, the West Bay had been created with the majority of the bay dredged and cleared, though with a small pocket of hard material left near its centre. At the top of the photograph the island of al-Safliyah can be seen, a recreational destination for some on Fridays. To give an idea of scale, the bay is around three kilometres in diameter, the opening between the end of the port on the right and the Sheraton on the left being around two kilometres.

The framework for all this development was established within WLPA’s strategic plan for the NDOD. But this plan was not just confined to the NDOD, it established the NDOD as an integral element of Doha, reorganising the existing road system – then locked onto the sea by a series of ring roads, ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ – and opened it out to form a parallel road system. The upper sketch shows how the road system had developed up to 1972, the Corniche turning away from the sea and moving up the hill towards al-Markhiya, and then to the north road.

In the lower sketch, the outline of the reclaimed area is shown as the New District of Doha, with the extended road system taken into it. A notional littoral road is shown, mirroring an old road or track that existed many years previously, moving up to al-Khor. The system also connects to the west with Rayyan, itself connecting to al-Shahanniya and Dukhaan its west.

It had already been established that the West Bay would be a geometrically precise shape, its northern point established by the increasingly deep water there. The WLPA plan created a rationale for the planning of the NDOD that resolved a number of strategic and political objectives. The littoral road became the Corniche, running along the northern face of Doha from feriq al Hitmi in the east to the Hotel and Conference Centre in the north-west, interrupted only by the Port development. This gave Doha a marine-oriented focus very much in keeping with its traditions and, at the same time, a recreational facility that might be enjoyed by all as well as structure for ceremonial procession.

The 1975 plan for the NDOD was intended to be a sensible response to a variety of problems faced by government, and was anticipated to cater for Doha’s planned development at least until the end of the century, bearing in mind that development would be happening elsewhere, not just in Doha but in other areas of the peninsula. This sketch illustrates the manner in which the area would be theoretically developed. The University can be seen integrated into the structure of the city while the plan allows for expansion not just to the west and Madinat Khalifa, but also potentially to the north.

Something of the political and planning parameters within which the New District of Doha was established have been mentioned previously, but it might be useful to make a note of some of the important projects constructed in the NDOD.

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Hotel and conference centre

This initiative witnessed, for instance, the design and construction of the iconic Hotel and Conference Centre on the tip of the New District of Doha for which C.Y. Lee of William L. Pereira Associates was the architect. The project, which was carried out by the Engineering Services Department of the Ministry of Public Works, utilised a series of packaged contracts in order to move the project forward more rapidly than would have been the case for a more traditional building construction model.

The first photograph above shows the drama of the bare structure after the separate piling and steel frame contracts had been let and completed, and awaiting the next stage of concrete cladding and completion. The second photograph shows the main steel structure under construction at the beginning of 1978. The third photograph was taken from the top floor towards completion of the steelwork contract and shows the relationship of the hotel with the island of al-Safliyah to its north with, to the left, a part of the reclaimed area set aside for the planned Diplomatic Area of the New District of Doha. The photograph also illustrates the triangular bracing and shows the corrugated steel floor plates fixed down prior to pouring the concrete floors on them.

These two photographs illustrate the next stage in the construction of the hotel and conference centre. Pre-cast concrete units were cast in a newly established yard specifically for this purpose. As can be seen from the photographs the concrete units are relatively thin and designed to span between the steelwork fixing points. The units create the necessary shade to the rooms. The second photograph shows how the steelwork was covered in sprayed-on fire retardant material though, in the process of fixing the concrete, some of the material can be seen to have been removed. This would have been subsequently re-sprayed prior to cladding with the finishing plasterwork.

An unusual feature of this hotel, although one that is not liked in the hotel world, is that the rooms are designed to occupy two levels. This was a deliberate design feature and one that created significantly more attractive rooms than are found in many hotels. Their focus from both the bed and sitting areas is oriented down and into the bay which is where it was determined the greatest interest lay. The photograph to the side shows the view from the twin bed area with the sitting area below and beyond and, through the windows, a usefully-sized balcony for use when the weather is suitable.

This was the first major construction project on the NDOD and one of the first in the country to be built using novel methods and designed to such high standards. This photograph, taken across the West Bay, shows the finished building in February 1983, though it was opened a year earlier. The original Qatar University project by the architect Kamal el-Kafrawi, was constructed under the same rationale, both considered exemplars for future development.

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Salam Plaza

In this aerial photograph, looking more or less south-west, the Hotel and Conference Centre occupies the foreground by the sea with, on the right and behind it, Salam Plaza, the first commercial development in the NDOD sitting by itself adjacent to the continuation of the ‘A’ ring road into the NDOD. This was understood to be a brave decision at the time but was not a commercial success, there being too little activity in the NDOD to induce people to shop there at that time, despite Salam having a long tradition in Doha and a good reputation with its existing stores on the Rayyan and al-Sadd roads. Both Salam Plaza and the Hotel and Conference Centre were opened in 1982, the latter being successful in many of its commercial respects, though having a degree of government assistance in the location of activities there.

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216 Intermediate Staff housing project

Behind the Hotel and Conference Centre in the photograph above and, on the left of this first of three photographs, is the Intermediate Staff 216 unit housing project, created for expatriate government staff. Designed by Georges Candilis along the lines of similar work of his elsewhere, this project created a valuable housing resource for government, allowing it to locate staff readily without having to deal with the private sector and the escalating rental costs.

The central photograph shows the articulated plan of the development arranged around social facilities while the lower, aerial photograph. looking approximately north-north-west, gives more of an indication of the character of the project. Its varying heights, open stairwells and balconies encouraged the flow of air movements through and around the project significantly helping with its cooling.

Parking for the project was at grade and there were plans to landscape heavily around the project to further mitigate the exposed environmental conditions obtaining there in the early days of the project.

The project was demolished late 2004 or early 2005 to make way for different development. At the time of writing this note in February 2011, the site has yet to be developed.

In the photographs above, and the upper of these two photographs, you see the Intermediate staff housing on the left with the Qatar Insurance Company’s building viewed in front of and between the two truncated pyramids of the Hotel and Conference Centre, and the Qatar Petroleum Headquarters tower, by Triad Cico, on the right. The latter company were also responsible for the National Theatre, developed at the entrance to the NDOD between the Corniche and ‘A’ ring road adjacent to Muhammad bin Thani street, running west past the Rumeillah fort. The QIC building originally had a rendered finish but later had it changed to an aluminium and glass finish. They now occupy a twenty-storey building in the NDOD. These two photographs illustrate more accurately the character of the NDOD in the early nineteen eighties with the new fill material a prominent feature and few roads. The lower photograph shows the prominence of the Hotel and Conference Centre with, to the left, I believe, the beginning of construction of the General Post Office. Note the beginnings of tree planting along the Corniche to the right.

This photograph of the Hotel and Conference Centre again shows its prominence, this time 2.8 kilometres across the West Bay from the east side of the fishing jetty immediately to the north of Doha’s central suq. Taken again in the early nineteen eighties, the foreground shows not just the character of the jetty, but also that the Corniche littoral paving and planting had not yet been carried out. The Hotel and Conference Centre were always seen to be an important grouping in the urban planning of Doha.

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Ministry of Information

Designed in the late 1970s by the architectural company, Triad Cico, an office and theatre complex for the Ministry of Information was developed in 1980, and occupied in 1981. Situated as a link between the various State offices sitting adjacent to the Corniche to the east, and the planned developments within the New District of Doha, the complex included not only offices for the Ministry, but also the State’s National Theatre, an important element in the process of establishing a national character and providing a forum for dance and music. This first view of it was taken in 1980 from within the New District of Doha looking approximately south, and shows the complex adjacent to Muhammad bin Thani Street with the fort at Rumaillah seen below the horizon towards the right of the photograph. The second photograph, taken in March, 1981, illustrates the modern architectural character of the complex exemplified in its internal courtyard, with the severe semi-circular arches reminiscent of the earlier and simpler forms of traditional architecture found in the peninsula.

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Central Post Office

Another of the developments initially seeding the area was the Central Post Office, designed by Comconsult. Constructed at the entrance to the NDOD, it was an important location for a building that is visited every day by the public, there being no delivery system to housing. It is a large structure, incorporating multi-storey car parking, with its location selected deliberately as part of the central focus of the Corniche set aside for civic and cultural developments, and adjoined the central plaza.

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Qatar university

The next major project following, or coeval with the creation of the New District of Doha and the construction of the Hotel and Conference Centre on it, was the Qatar university project. The NDOD was thought by many to be the filled area nearest the existing conurbation of Doha and fronting the West Baby, but the planned NDOD was considerably larger, extending further north on existing land to the east and north of al-Markhiyah. This northern extent of the NDOD was marked by the location for the new Qatar University.

The development followed a study, completed in 1973, which set out to establish a plan for higher education in Qatar. It was decided that the development would be situated at what was considered to be, at the latter end of the 1970s, a good distance from Doha in order to minimise any problems arising from the concentration of female students who would be attending tertiary education there. At that time it was not envisaged that the other land uses in the NDOD would grow to meet or even encompass it.

While a small technical centre had previously been developed nearby at Medinat Khalifa and was the first tertiary educational facility in the peninsula, the university was to be not just a major and novel development in physical construction terms, but was also envisaged as a necessary step in the advancing of human resources and education standards in the peninsula.

Inaugurated in February 1985, Qatar University was designed by the late Dr Kamal el-Kafrawi in conjunction with Ove Arup and Partners who were responsible for all the technical aspects of the project. In 1992 it was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

The initial university development was designed to comprise:

• a Central Library, administration, and computer centre,
• Men’s and women’s colleges,
• Student activities and sport facilities,
• an Engineering faculty,
• a Science faculty,
• an Educational technology building, and
• Central services units.

though the initial programme was significantly augmented in the coming years.

In accordance with the objective of improving manufacturing and construction standards in the State, considerable effort went into designing and establishing processes, standards and procedures for the production of the buildings and equipping of the university.

The main units of the its design were to be self-finished, prefabricated concrete elements and, in order to achieve the necessary standards, a factory for the prefabricated units was established nearby in the north of the NDOD where, with international expertise, this quality of product might be readily produced and moved to the site. Because of this initiative, together with others, methods of fabrication, project quality control and construction achieved standards not seen before in the peninsula.

The two photographs above were taken in October 1980 and show the first stages in the construction of the project. In the first photograph the relationship of the university site to the desert north of the NDOD can be seen with the first stages of the foundations going in and the tracks and cranes handling the units seen left and right. The second photograph shows the project a little more advanced with walls at ground floor level erected and propped and the distinctive shapes of the octagonal floor plan evident.

This photograph illustrates the geometrically based plan form around which the initial university buildings were designed and constructed. This form was established of octagons linked by squares, with square wind and light towers – notionally derived from the local traditional architecture – sitting on many of the octagons, and the pedestrian axes aligned with the direction of the prevailing winds that sweep the peninsula.

Taken in July 1982, this view looks along the internal pedestrian route of the project that can be seen in the above photograph running north-north-west to south-south-east towards the left side of the photograph. It illustrates the design of the wind towers, but with the project still under construction and the glazing of the two-storey structures below them yet to be fixed in place.

While there has been criticism of the non-functioning wind towers and the lack of spatial flexibility intrinsic in the octagonal and square plan form, the university remains, nevertheless, an extraordinary project.

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The Corniche

Planning in Doha continued based on developing Doha Municipality’s Llewelyn-Davies and Shankland Cox plans, but increasingly on the WLPA planning which had set out not only the structure for Doha but also for the New District of Doha which now formed an integral part of Doha. The Corniche was an important element of the plan with the early nineteen-eighties witnessing its construction. In the first of these contemporary photographs the scale of the median cross section can be seen together with the first pre-cast concrete elements on the littoral side. The white building in the distance is the Ministry of the Interior, constructed at al-Bida, the original urban development at this part of the coast. Further east along the Corniche, nearer the centre of Doha and approaching the Diwan al Amiri roundabout from the west, the second photograph, again taken in the early nineteen-eighties, shows on the right the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, on the left, the glazed façade and white capping of Qatar National Bank with Government House behind it on the edge of the photograph.

These were important developments in the planning of Doha. The Corniche was to be seen as the open face of Doha, not only the front it presented to the world, but also a facility to be enjoyed by pedestrians as illustrated both in this sketch, illustrating the intention, as well as in the photograph below, taken in February 1983 before the pedestrian element of the Corniche was completed with the addition of its paving. More particularly, in planning terms the Corniche was seen as a ceremonial route into the New District of Doha with the ‘A’ ring road intended to link the normal traffic loading between the NDOD and Doha. The buildings associated with it were understood to be important in this urban scene – both those in the NDOD as well as those existing in Doha.

One of the most important urban elements was the Diwan al Amiri grouping, that is the old Diwan al Amiri, the clock tower and the main mosque together with its manara, an extremely distinctive urban design feature of Doha.

This photograph, taken from the Diwan al Amiri roundabout on the Corniche, shows one of the first steps in establishing a setting for this grouping, one that was to be developed further with the construction of the new Diwan al Amiri to the west of the existing building. The photograph shows not only the relatively dramatic setting of the old Diwan al Amiri but the kerbing units, known as vehicle barriers and designed to prevent vehicles moving across them, in the process of installation.

The next photograph was taken in October 1983 further west along the Corniche and illustrates something of the scale and character of work that was carried out to establish the pedestrian elements of the Corniche. The precast concrete vehicle barriers can be seen together with the red and dark grey concrete blocks that were used to pave the area. Palms have been brought in, still with their branches wrapped, a normal practice until they are stabilised and surrounding work completed. The cables lead to sand-blasting equipment used to finish the precast concrete units.

These next three photographs were all taken in October 1983 when work was being carried out to complete the Corniche rapidly yet to a high standard. The first of the photographs is a detail of the end of one of the precast concrete units that were used to trim the sea edge. Previously there had been plans to create a balustrade along the edge of the Corniche but it was argued that it would be far more in keeping with the marine character of the Corniche, as well as permitting views from vehicles, if there were to be no balustrade but a lower, concrete unit. To test this, a balustrade was erected between the old jetty and Port roundabouts to test the theory, it being obvious that there was significant interference with enjoyment of the West Bay if the balustrading was to be continued along the Corniche.

Here is a view of one of the littoral features of the Corniche, taken from the air, and which gives a sense of the scale of the project. The dual-three roadway can be seen as well as its intervening median, and the amount of land to be given to the pedestrian, landscaping and parking element can also be gauged. The precast concrete units shown in detail above can be seen lined up along the edge of the sea, awaiting permanent fixing.

This view of the Corniche pedestrian area shown above, here photographed in March 1984, shows more clearly the quality of both the space and finishes being established for those using the Corniche. The area set aside for pedestrians is generous and incorporates seating as well as direct access to the sea at this point. This is an area designed to be enjoyed by pedestrians and, in this, was extremely successful.

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Other roads in the New District of Doha

At the same time that the Corniche was being developed, the road system within the New District of Doha was also being extended from the existing Doha road system in accordance with the WLPA masterplan. This first photograph shows the extent of this work in October 1981. The Hotel and Conference Centre can be seen at the point of the new filled area with the planned Diplomatic area to its north, left, on the photograph. The island of al-Safliyah can be seen behind this at the top of the photograph. The island in the centre of West Bay is also evident, left as a feature due to its hard nature and the cost to remove. The Corniche and ‘A’ ring road can be clearly seen with, bottom left, the road coming down the hill from Medinat Khalifa and the television centre established in its new roundabout junction with the ‘A’ ring road.

Having an area free of constraints made the work of installing utilities theoretically more easily than it would have been within the existing town. Here, the ‘A’ ring road junction with one of the cross links to the Corniche had traffic lights installed at their junction. This seemed strange at the time as there was no development adjacent to the roads for some time. It created, for some time, an interesting dilemma for drivers who could see no traffic holding them up, so would drive straight through with the lights at red, an activity that gradually became more precarious as traffic volumes increased.

The installation of the roads network saw the introduction of a formal coordination system between the government agencies involved in the process. In particular there was a common trench design developed in order to reduce the amount of trenching in the NDOD.

By comparison, in the Diplomatic area of Riyadh, a slightly different approach was taken with utility installation. The land on which the development was constructed was heavily modelled and the Saudi government elected to enter into a design and build contract with an international company. This company was responsible for designing the layout to agreed plans, and then supervising the installation of all utilities up to stubs on each plot to which those later developing each site would link their buildings. At the same time all the paving was carried out and the roads were graded and finished up to sub-grade level. This created a good surface for those using the area to execute the buildings and, on their being finished, the roads were to be finished. By this method it was intended that the finished product would be of a high standard and not damaged by the issue that seems to concern clients the most, trenching.

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Coordination

As suggested above, one of the problems of inconsistent development, both physical as well as institutional, was the lack of coordination between those engaged in construction of the physical environment. This also had its effects in other areas, but that will have to be discussed elsewhere.

The development of the NDOD was intended to be a model, not only in terms of its planning, but also in the selection and design of the different elements that were constructed within it. But more than this, it presented an opportunity to improve the capabilities of the construction industry in both the private and public sectors.

The construction industry was in nascent form with companies’ capabilities dramatically uneven. One of the reasons for this was that while the market had been slowly developing, expertise and controls had not been keeping pace with the increasing rate of development. In addition, the registration of companies was effected with their being given the title of ‘general merchant and contractor’, a term that enabled any merchant to construct a building legally. While this was seen to be a method of helping nationals to develop the country while improving themselves, there were soon apparent a number of difficulties. The Ministry of Public Works was able to constrain some of the more obvious problems that might arise by restricting to six the number of houses a contractor was permitted to carry out as a single contract. However, with time an effort was made to prequalify contractors according to their proven ability, though this mechanism proved difficult to enforce. The problem of matching contracts to contractors, the manner in which owners brought in their professional workforce, and issues relating to permissions and supervision continued to produce construction of poor quality.

more to be written…

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Planning parameters

The New District of Doha was intended to take a number of land uses that would see a relatively low development density of between 25 and 35 persons per hectare. The area was considered to be suited to take a median population of around 40,000, this increasing to 60,000 by the turn of the century by linking the structure through to Madinat Khalifa in the West. However, it was understood that the density would depend upon decisions relating to housing type mix and increasingly low density national housing standards.

Circulation structure

The circulation structure that formed the linear grid on which development would be located, was established as approximately a one kilometre square, an optimal function of the population and the traffic it would generate. Those living within each neighbourhood would have optimal walking distance both to local amenities, as well as to the main roads where the public transport system would run. This circulation structure would support a dual-three road system incorporating landscaping with roundabouts at the junctions of these primary distributors.

Roads aligned parallel with the Corniche were seen as inter-urban connectors; those at right angles to the Corniche as lateral connectors. It was anticipated that the inter-urban connectors would take a heavier load than the lateral connectors. The main inter-urban road, which was seen to take the major traffic loading was, at that time, the ‘A’ ring road. It and the Corniche would line the back and front of the ministries and business districts that fronted onto the Corniche. There would be no access to these districts directly from the Corniche, although the possibility of ceremonial access was recognised.

The Corniche

The Corniche, which includes both the road system, landscaping and pedestrian pavements, was perceived as a major design element for Doha. From the Qatar National Museum, situated on Doha’s East bay, the Corniche stretches almost seven kilometres to the Hotel and Conference Centre. Although the port breaks the continuous relationship with the sea, the opportunity was taken to ensure that the Corniche should develop as a linear park, providing both a recreational resource as well as a ceremonial route. Strongly planted with some associated parking, it was intended to provide a broad walkway immediately adjacent to the sea, with no railings to interfere with view from passing vehicles. Its northern ending in the New District of Doha was specifically marked with an iconic architectural building, the Hotel and Conference Centre.

A major element of the Corniche, in fact of Doha as a whole, was the identification of a site for tower. This was to be located at the end of the main jetty which at the northern end of Grand Hamad. This strong urban design feature was to form a focus for anybody moving north along Grand Hamad, and would also be a strong vertical feature marking Doha’s suq for those moving around the Corniche, both from the east as well as the west.

Neighbourhood units

Within each of the road grids it was anticipated that there would be neighbourhood units of between 4,000 and 5,000 people. This population would be housed in approximately 1,000 housing units that would include around 250 multi-family units in order to maintain a mixed population. At that time, 1,000 housing units per annum was the shortfall in housing provision.

However, it was not envisaged that each of the neighbourhood units would be populated at the same densities. Senior Staff housing areas, for instance, would have a lower density and would be located further away from the Corniche, the higher densities being located closer to the Corniche and the main distributors.

Education within the NDOD

The levels of population within a neighbourhood unit would theoretically support one girls’ and one boys’ primary school. Two such units would support one girls’ and one boys’ preparatory school, and four of the units would support one girls’ and one boys’ secondary school.

Activity centres

The planning of centres followed established hierarchical principles, but with a difference in that they were viewed as being located on a lineal system in a similar way to traditional Arab aswaaq. The activity centres were seen as being mixed use and would contain a range of commercial, retail, educational, municipal and other uses that would provide appropriate facilities to those living within a short distance of them. Most importantly, the ability to move around on foot at grade was considered imperative.

Integration of the different communities was also considered to be an important issue in deciding upon the manner in which residential units would relate to communal activities. Short walking distances were anticipated to contribute to this, but there was also a requirement to mix uses, incorporating small uses with major ones in order to ensure that areas were not left dead at night and that the communities would have opportunities to mingle.

The centres would move through the neighbourhood units allowing some city-wide and community facilities to be located adjacent to primary roads, but locating other community facilities and neighbourhood facilities away from those roads. The scale and hierarchy of those centres would reflect the density of associated housing, providing at the smaller levels not just local shopping, but also crafts and repair shops, small scale research and development, and local scale civic and government offices.

It was intended that two of the centres would develop as major district centres with the capability of attracting custom from the whole of the Doha conurbation though obviously more related to local residents and workers. The first of those to be developed would be the centre located adjacent to the Hotel and Conference Centre, the other adjacent to the University. To the side is an illustrative sketch plan showing how the centre might be structured, the pink areas representing the open pedestrianised elements of the centre.

Policies on height

It was not anticipated that buildings would be of the significant height they now reach. Ten to twelve storeys was thought to be sufficient to cater for the needs of the business and State requirements at that time. The Qatar Petroleum building and Salam Plaza, shown above illustrate the bulk of such development. For a number of reasons, development was seen as being carried out on discrete sites, rather than being designed and constructed in a more integrated form. This had much to do with nervousness in the market and the lack of belief in the future of the NDOD, it being easier to encourage single site users, either public or private.

The oblique aerial perspective above is also of the district centre associated with the Hotel and Conference Centre and gives some indication of its scale and anticipated character. With such an important resource as the West Bay, it was considered imperative that there would be a degree of protection of the views to be enjoyed from the NDOD into the Bay. This would be effected by ensuring tall buildings did not block views to the east and south – tall buildings would not be located in front of smaller ones – and that by locating buildings on an orthagonal north-south oriented grid, views between them would also be possible.

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Municipality planning

Following the Second World War, building development steadily increased in pace, particularly in the capital, Doha. In response to this the government, in 1963, introduced the Municipality of Doha, giving it four responsibilities:

• building process,
• gardens,
• public health, and
• accounts.

This new agency introduced the first requirements for the construction of buildings, a site location plan, but with no process for its enforcement. This municipal administration was the only form of local authority until 1971 when, with independence, a ministry structure was introduced, one of which being the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

The situation in which the ministries found themselves was novel and a dramatic change from the traditional way of managing affairs. Consultants were brought in, the Ministry of Public Works introducing Llewelyn-Davies, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor to review and recommend how the peninsula might be planned and managed. Their work included:

• a structure plan for the whole of the peninsula,
• reports on population and its alternative projections,
• recommendations on land allocation, building heights, transportation and services networks,
• town planning designs for Doha,
• detailed designs for residential areas,
• detailed designs for the planning of the central area of Doha, and
• building laws and regulations for the control of planning and building construction.

The consultants continued to work on developing the structure plan but, by 1978 it was evident that the pace of development was outstripping the facility of government to control it. The following year the Ministry established its Town Planning section for the Municipality of Doha, Ll-D having had its contracts moved to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in 1974 in order to recognise and make more apparent the distinction between planning and construction.

Meanwhile, Llewelyn-Davies continued to work on the centre of Doha, their remit changing with time to more detailed work on the identification and design of Action Areas and, particularly the design of Grand Hamad, the road driven north-south through the middle of the centre of Doha. Ll-D were also awarded the design and construction of the major hospital that replaced the old Rumaillah Hospital.

By 1978 it was evident that the pace of development was outstripping the facility of government to control it. The following year the Ministry established its Town Planning section for the Municipality of Doha, Ll-D having had its contracts moved to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in 1974 in order to recognise and make more apparent the distinction between planning and construction.

Shankland Cox Partnership were introduced in 1979, their remit beginning with the:

• examination of existing planning data and policies, recommending additional data requirements and areas where existing resources could be improved; advising on the design of a planning land bank or storage system and the implementation of such a system,
• updating or revising to appropriate scales the existing development plans for Doha and the major villages,
• producing Action Area plans and detailed physical development guidelines where appropriate,
• reviewing and advising on existing physical planning and development control procedures, and
• reviewing the existing Ministry staff structure and assisting in training existing and new staff.

This work was followed up by specific studies and recommendations for:

• an outline for the Qatar Area Referencing System – QARS,
• a planning database,
• the Doha Interim Structure Plan, 2000,
• the Doha and New South District Interim Development Plan, 1990,
• Doha City Centre Interim Development Plan,
• Action area plans for
  • the new Suq,
  • Grand Hamad road,
  • Jasra road,
  • Asmak street, and
  • feriq al-Salata, and
• a legal framework for implementation,

this latter advice being professional advice on establishing a set of improved building codes for the State, to be enacted and enforced as a continuation of the work of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

By this time the Planning Section of the Ministry was essentially structured to look only at development within Doha, its original structure being associated with:

• development control,
• land control and sub-division,
• urban design, and
• utility coordination and liaison.

Land control and sub-division also dealt with the increasing problems relating to land adjustment. The initiative to develop land had encouraged many to have their land appropriated and compensated. The situation with regard to boundaries was complicated by the increasing value of land and its reflection in the number of land agents and their operation.

During this period, from the late-1970s to the late-1980s, government settled into a period of consolidation, attempting to bring its institutions up to speed while keeping pace with the rate of development. This required increased cooperation between ministries and their staff, but also the continuing use of consultancies. Bear in mind that individuals and agencies were introducing consultants to the country to work on a variety of projects in the public and private sectors, the former including projects for oil and gas, security and the military.

It is notable that, during this period, the rapid pace of development slowed as a reflection of revenues from oil and gas which slide during the 1980s. In government, the opportunity was taken to continue to innovate, one particularly useful initiative being the introduction of a Geographical Information System to enable improved accuracy and with it, better information and coordination.

This period also saw the Doha Planning Section established its Urban Design and Land Use Standards and Regulations. Generally these followed the recommendations that had been accepted and adopted for development in the New District of Doha.

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Municipality planning standards

The Municipality established a series of standards that it now sought to implement not only in Doha but by extension, in the rest of the peninsula. Here they are in order to illustrate the thinking at that time. Bear in mind that this work was completed after the introduction of novel requirements in the New District of Doha.

Housing

Plot sizes are to be 30m x 30m when sub-dividing vacant land, this also being the standard for Senior Staff housing.

Plot coverage is to be a maximum of 60%.

A Floor Area Ratio – F.A.R. – of 1:2 is permitted.

Car parking of 1 space per dwelling unit is a required.

A maximum height of 11 metres is permitted within which a basement, ground floor, first floor and penthouse have to be accommodated.

House structures are classified as:

• Main structure – the principal building intended to be the residential quarters of a plot, and
• Secondary structures – ancillary buildings on the same plot which may be separate from the main housing structure. Secondary structures include servants’ quarters, separate majlis, garaging and storage facilities.

The following housing types are possible within the density ranges permitted in residential areas:

• Villa – an individual housing unit,
• Patio or courtyard house – an individual housing unit organised around a central open space,
• Row house – individual housing unit on its own lot which abuts its side lot lines and joins row housing units side-by-side or in more than one storey, on a single site,
• Duplex – an individual housing structure with two housing units side-by-side or in more than one storey, on a single site,
• Townhouse complex – a housing structure with three or more dwelling units side-by-side, on a single site, and
• Block of flats – a multi-family walk-up or elevator-serviced housing structure.

Gross residential density is the total number of dwelling units that may be built within a sub-division, divided by the total area in hectares, including all local, access, and the loop roads, culs-de-sac, pedestrian paths and local community facilities.

Residential zones are classified by gross density under the following categories:

• Very low density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted to 5.25 dwellings per hectare. This density level provides for lots of up to 1,200 sq.m., allowing for the construction of spacious single-family detached housing or either the villa or patio or courtyard house design configuration.
• Low density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted to 6.75 dwellings per hectare for the construction of single-family housing on moderately sized lots. Possible housing types include detached villas, patio or courtyard houses or row houses.
• Medium density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted at 10 dwelling units per hectare. Many housing types are possible at this density, including detached single family units on smaller lots, single family cluster housing, townhouses and duplexes.
• Medium high density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted to 20 dwelling units per hectare. The housing types in this density category include attached units such as townhouses and duplexes, as well as low-rise blocks of flats.
• High density – an area reserved for the construction of walk-up or elevator-served blocks of flats with an average gross residential density of 30 units per hectare.

Lot sizes for the above densities are:

Housing type	Minimum lot – sq.m.	Maximum lot – sq.m.
Villa	350	1,200
Patio or courtyard house	160	250
Row house	160	250
Duplex	200 per unit	600 per unit
Townhouse	120 per unit	200 per unit
Block of flats	720	180 per flat

Sub-division design – a residential sub-division is a planned division of land into lots and public rights-of-way to provide sites for future individual buildings. A sub-division plan may consist solely of residential lots and public rights-of-way. It may also contain lots set aside for community facilities, including those specified by the government. Design criteria concerning proposed sub-divisions are listed as follows:

• Sub-division design shall conform to the land use designations, development densities and housing types specified in the Land Use Plan and in the site specific Planning and Urban Design Regulations for the area.
• In residential areas where a sub-division plan has been established by the government, all roadways and building lot boundaries shall be treated as fixed conditions.
• In cases where a sub-division plan has not been established by the government, the distribution and utilisation of land may be determined by the developer, subject to the following conditions:
• Land shall not be sub-divided for development in areas where soil, subsoil or flooding conditions create dangers to health and safety, unless proper provision is made to correct these conditions. The layout of the area shall be compatible with natural and developed features of the area and surrounding regions.
• The area shall be organised to provide both an efficient layout of infrastructure systems and a pleasant and sociable living environment.
• Orientation of streets, lots and buildings should be generally parallel or perpendicular to true north in order to minimise the impact of solar exposure on buildings. Orientation along a north-west - south-east axis should be avoided in order to minimise exposure to severe winds from the north-west.
• Service facilities and higher density housing should be located so as to facilitate access and minimise traffic to them through lower density housing areas.
• Consideration should be given to grouping lots to create small local areas in which residents may share common facilities. Mixing housing types and lot sizes within the sub-division is encouraged so that the resulting neighbourhood will be more heterogeneous.
• Leftover or unassigned land areas are to be avoided. All land within the residential area shall be developed or treated.
• Set-backs – the front, rear and side walls of each house type shall have the following minimum set-backs from the boundary of the plot:

Setbacks from the…	With windows	Without windows
Front	5.5 metres
Rear	3.0 metres	1.5 metres
Left side	3.0 metres	1.5 metres
Right side	3.0 metres	1.5 metres

Non-residential uses

Non-residential uses permitted in residential zones include:

• Local commercial – an area for commercial services or convenience retail sals of limited scale such as cafés, restuarants, news stands, tobacconists, drug stores, flower shops or small grocery stores generally provided for the everyday use of residents living in the immediate area.
• Local mosque – a site designated for a small daily mosque serving the residents of the immediate area.
• Outdoor majlis – a small pocket park providing a social gathering area for adults residing in the immediate vicinity.
• Children’s playlot – a small pocket park or ‘tot lot’ allowing young children a safe public play area.
• Social centre – an area for a social centre of club facilities.
• Recreation centre – an area for recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, sports courts, playing fields and a club house.
• Public park – a site designated for a public park or garden for passive recreation.

Road network and hierarchy

All roads and streets shall meet the design standards set forth by the Ministry of Public Works Civil Engineering Department – Roads Section and Design Review Committee will be required. Road types can be defined as follows:

• Regional, primary, secondary and local roads are normally situated outside or on the perimeter of any residential area.
• Access roads, loop roads and culs-de-sac provide vehicular access within the residential area. In residential areas where the road network and land sub-division plan have been established by the government, all roadways and building lot boundaries shall be treated as fixed conditions. Where roadways and building lots have not been established by the government, internal streets may be designed by the developer, subject to Engineering and Planning Controls. Where internal vehicular circulation is designed by the developer, the following apply:
  • all habitable buildings shall be provided direct vehicular access.
  • The circulation system should follow the established road system hierarchy with traffic descending from primary or secondary roads to local roads, thence to access roads, loop roads and culs-de-sac, and finally to individual lots.
  • Streets should be sized according to intended traffic load with culs-de-sac carrhing the least traffic and loop roads, access roads and local roads carrying increased traffic loads respectively. Local roads shold provide the link to high volume primary or secondary roads.
  • Internal streets should be designed to discourage through traffic. This can be accomplished by use of loop streets, culs-de-sac and T-intersections. Four-way intersections are not allowed.
  • Where appropriate, internal streets in a residential area should connect with streets in adjacent areas. If connected, the road reservation of both streets should be equal. Where street systems of adjoining residential areas have not been constructed, it is the responsibility of the developer to identify the location and status of adjoining streets to ensure maximum coordination.
  • In general, streets should intersect as nearly as possible at right angles both for reasons of safety and to avoid difficult lot design problems. Intersections of more than four streets are not allowed.
  • Internal street systems shall be designed to accommodate not only vehicular circulation but also pedestrian circulation and utility systems. Roadway reservations shall include space for sidewalks and utility lines as determined by the relevant government authority.
  • Grades on internal streets shall be not greater than 8% nor less than 0.5%.
  • Tangents between reverse curves of an ‘S’ curve on local or access roads shall be a minimum of 50 and 25 metres respectively. The minimum radius of all internal roadway curves is 50 metres.
  • Corners at intersections must be rounded to permit safe turns.
  • Visibility as intersections must be provided by means of a clear zone within which no wall or object taller than 0.4 metres is permitted.
  • Streets shall be designed according to the topography of the area to minimise grading and facilitate surface drainage.
  • Stop signs shall be provided at the intersections of local roads and access roads.
  • Vehicular access to individual building lots is permitted only from local roads, access roads and culs-de-sac. No direct access is allowed from primary or secondary roads. Parking requirements in residential areas are as follows:
    • Parking in residential areas is to be located principally on building sites or in off-street parking areas.
    • Street parking is discouraged. When street parking is permitted by the Site Specific Regulations, it is to be designed as lay-bys differentiated from the traffic roadway by construction materials and lane striping. Lay-bys or street parking are not permitted within the clear zones required at intersections.
    • Off-street visitors’ parking shall be provided within convenient walking distance of the units to be served in parking bays off the traffic lanes of residential streets.
  
  

  On-site parking

  • On-site parking shall be provided for each housing type according to the minimum standards given below:
    • Minimum car parking requirements:
      • Villas – 1 per dwelling plus 1 per additional 200 sq.metres.
      • Flats – 1 per dwelling up to 16 flats plus 1 per additional 4 flats.
      • On-site parking shall be provided for each non-residential building type as follows:
        • Commercial – 1 space for each 25 square metres of net usable floor area.
        • Educational – 1 space per classroom plus 10 spaces.
        • Religious – 1 space for each 10 square metres of total prayer area.
        • Recreational – per programme requirements.
  
  

  Service access

  • Wherever possible, access for delivery traffic should be separated from other traffic and designed not to interfere with pedistrian traffic. All outside storage and dock space shall be visually screened from parking areas and pedestrian systems by a landscaped wall at least 2 metres in height.
  
  

  Bicycles, motorbikes and motorcycles

  • Provision shall be made for access and parking of bicycles, motorbikes and motorcycles in appropriate, distinct locations.

more to be written…

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture has been responsible for the physical planning within Qatar. Its Urban Planning Department controls this through the medium of its plans, this to the side being the Greater Doha Structure Plan which is stated as intending to establish and control development through to 2030. The plan incorporates six inter-related components – current and proposed physical development patterns, land use, community facilities, transportation, utilities and the environment – all within an interactive framework.

This illustration indicates the planning of land uses around the West Bay about 2003. Taken from a document prepared for the second ministries competition in 2003, and illustrating the intentions of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture’s Urban Planning Department, you will notice a significant change along the Corniche where the area recommended for the ministries in the WLPA 1979 plan has been changed to landscaping. The business district and public plaza elements of the NDOD remain the same. In urban design terms the change signifies a reinforcing of the visual separation of the two urban centres – the NDOD and the old centre of Doha.

more to be written…

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Urban Planning and Development Authority

more to be written…

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National Plan

The impetus given to the development of Qatar by Sheikh Hamad saw the introduction of Louis Berger and Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum to the planning process in Qatar in 1997. 1994-1996. ???

more to be written…

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Ministries competition

One of the important initiatives intended to encourage development within the new plan for Doha was a competition for the design of a ministries complex for Doha. The competition was initiated in 1976. This particular element of the Corniche was seen to be an important physical link, joining the business district of the NDOD with the Diwan al Amiri and existing centre of Doha, an area with no development on it other than the Ministry of the Interior on feriq al Bida and the National Theatre at Rumaillah. It was intended that this result of the competition would run along the Corniche, focussing on the West Bay, and establish a high standard of design.

More than this, the project was understood to be an extremely important initiative as it would hopefully resolve a number of issues that were becoming increasingly apparent with the administrative, organisational and physical development of the State in its different aspects, as well as promoting the image of Qatar both within and outside the country.

Firstly, the project was intended to fulfil, or at least seed, the growing need for government offices that were not required to be either security discrete or location-specific. Secondly, it would be one of the projects intended to establish high standards of design and construction, the others being the Hotel and Conference Centre, the University and housing for Government Senior Staff employees. Thirdly, the development would join the existing group of government offices immediately north of the centre of Doha with the State Plaza, the other side of which would be more business related and occupied by quasi-governmental organisations and private business. Fourthly, and in urban design terms, it would create an organised façade to the Corniche which was conceived as having a recreational and ceremonial status in the road hierarchy, thus creating a recognisable face for the emerging capital of the peninsula.

A brief was prepared by the Technical Office of H.H. The Amir, and four well-known if not famous architectural companies from different countries were invited to compete with outline schemes for the ministries complex stretching from the Office of H.H. The Amir in the east to Khalifa Road in the west, this being the main traffic distributor leading from Medinat Khalifa and al Markhiya into the State plaza which was recognised as being the gateway to West Bay. In effect the scheme ran to the National Theatre site on the southern boundary of the State plaza, and incorporated the Ministry of the Interior building at feriq al Bida. The architects invited to prepare schemes for this limited competition were

• The Architects Collaborative,
• Gunther Behnisch,
• James Stirling and
• Kenzo Tange & Urtec.

A fifth architect was invited to participate in the competition, but declined.

The four illustrations above are taken from the schemes submitted by the four architects and are interesting in many ways, unusually illustrating quite different approaches to their urban design solutions – though all responded accurately to the design brief.

The lowest of the four illustrations above, this plan and the detail photograph, are all of part of the model of the winning Kenzo Tange and Urtec scheme. In it the prestigious offices and elements of the ministries form a continuous band at the front of the scheme parallel with and looking out north over formal landscaping and the Corniche into the West Bay, with the standardised working offices behind them, capable of expansion, and taking their day-to-day access from the service road developed parallel with the Corniche. Vertical circulation for the offices was to be organised within circular corner towers which gave a particular character to the project, and the long axes of the offices themselves radiated around the West Bay rather than being designed on north-south or east-west axes, as was the normal practice.

Regrettably the winning project never got off the ground due to a number of difficulties, particularly in deciding practicalities and coordination with regard to the different ministries originally selected to move to the site. But there were additional difficulties. There had been considerable problems in obtaining the spatial schedules and functional requirements from those ministries selected to move, many of whom continued to wish to build in locations that were in conflict with those of the notional plan to set them along the Corniche or within the New District of Doha, and who found continual reasons to revise quantities or amend their other requirements. There were additional difficulties relating to identity for the ministries, nearly all of them wishing to have their image distinguished from others. In retrospect none of the problems experienced was unusual and might have been better understood and managed at the time.

Nevertheless, the Tange scheme was progressed and developed, taking into consideration the changing parameters as and when they could be agreed and confirmed. The two illustrations above show an intermediate and final view of the Tange scheme, radically different from the original concept but, ultimately, not built. It is interesting to speculate how this might have affected subsequent development had that initial scheme been constructed.

More recently, in 2003 the process was repeated, albeit with different requirements but reflecting a similar intent in providing a face to Qatar by transforming the Corniche. The architects invited to participate were Patrick Berger, Zaha Hadid, Kamel Louafi, Jean Nouvel, D. Paysage Architects and Martha Schwartz Inc.

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The Doha Palace project

The Diwan al-Amiri is the two-storey building from which the country was officially governed by Sheikh Khalifa from 1972, though previously he had worked from offices in Government House. This aerial view of it, taken from the north-north-east, was made in March 1976, and shows it occupied with the cars of staff parked in front of it and with works in hand on the landscaping between it and the Corniche. The Clock Tower is just out of picture, top left. The reason for its inclusion on the page dealing with planning is that it was seen to be an important urban element in the planning of new development in Doha, and should be understood in its relationship to the ministries project above.

In the early nineteen-seventies the Diwan al-Amiri occupied a prominent position west of the centre of Doha, as illustrated in the photograph above taken in 1976. The development consisted of offices at first floor level wrapped around two courtyards – four sides of the northern courtyard and two of the southern. North-west of the northern courtyard was the structure which had been built to house Sheikh Ahmed, but never finished or occupied. On the ground floor were mainly State function rooms, particularly a majlis and dining room. Although the Diwan appeared to be, and is, a large building, there were relatively few people housed in it. So, with the need to house increasing numbers of people in the Diwan al-Amiri, plans were initiated to find a useful way of enlarging the building.

This was also seen as an opportunity to establish a strong urban design element at the south end of the West Bay, in effect a focus for the intended development that was to stretch around the bay. It would link the existing government buildings to its east with the ministries project which was to extend west to the State Plaza and would also be a focus for these existing and new developments.

By the late 1970s, the Diwan al-Amiri was becoming crowded with the staff needed to respond to the growing requirements of that office. From the outside the building appears large but it is essentially a series of rooms served from a corridor wrapped around two courtyards on two levels. Combining solutions to both the needs for office space, a more international setting for this important State function and an urban design element for the developing Corniche, the first initiative suggested that a building could be created in the angle between the Diwan al-Amiri, the unoccupied extension to its north-west, the Corniche to its north and the access road from the Corniche to the Clock Tower roundabout. A design brief was produced with a relatively modest schedule of requirements that were to be contained in the new and refurbished buildings. These first two sketch models illustrate the thinking for the project.

In these two photographs of the project model, showing how the scheme might appear from approximately the north-east, the location of the new building can be clearly seen together with the new façades intended to tie the new building visually to the older structures. Note also the intent to create a large plaza immediately to the east of the Diwan incorporating the Clock Tower, and to move the access road further east to accommodate this.

Designed by the Japanese architect, Professor Kenzo Tange, the schematic design shown above was developed into a full design within the constraints of the site, this first photograph illustrating the finished presentation design from a northern, aerial perspective. The Clock Tower and Grand Mosque can be seen in the top left of the photograph. The Corniche is out of picture at the bottom of the photograph.

While it was envisaged that the scheme could be expanded both to the south and west, there was concern at the proximity to the Corniche, it being felt that for both security and urban design purposes, the building should be set further back in order not to act as a visual stop to the run of prestigious buildings envisaged running from the Sheraton Hotel at the end of the West Bay through to at least Government House, east of the Diwan al-Amiri.

Here is the model viewed directly from the east. If you compare the differences between the sketch design and finished design models, a major urban design change will be noted. The concept of creating a large urban square immediately to the east of the existing Diwan al-Amiri by the introduction of a strong architectural device, a colonnade, was dropped in favour of keeping the existing road pattern and allowing the staff parking to remain in that area. In retrospect this decision did not permit the breathing space in front of it which the Diwan al-Amiri deserved when looked at from an urban design point of view, though it might be argued that the colonnade would have obscured the new eastern façade of the building.The lowest of these photographs shows the main entrance façade of the building, looking from the north-east. The long, unbroken line of the roof may seem unusual, but it replicated that of the existing buildings.

For a number of reasons the initial project did not go ahead and it was decided that the site for the new building should be moved further west onto the site of the old, unoccupied extension. The concept for this new site was initiated within the Technical Office of the Diwan al-Amiri and then developed into an architectural scheme by the architectural company, Rader Mileto and Batori.

The first photograph above, an aerial view from the north-west of one of the models, shows the project at a fairly advanced stage when the organisation and massing had been agreed upon and the project was about to go into design development. The lower photograph is of one of the many exploratory studies made to examine elements of the building, in this case the external cladding where the intent was to develop a façade which had a traditional architectural character, responded to the prevailing environmental conditions, and was suited to high quality pre-cast concrete construction methods.

Viewed here from the Corniche to its north-west, and under construction in October 1983, the new Diwan al-Amiri – sometimes referred to as the Doha Palace – was contracted out as a number of design-build packages in order to obtain both the character and quality of work envisaged by the client. Each of the packages were based on client initiated design briefs which were seen to be a necessary method of directing the design of a building whose external presence would represent the face of Qatar both to those living in the country as well as to foreign dignitaries visiting the country. Its interior, in particular, would need to reflect this. Both the manner in which it presented itself through its urban positioning, as well as the detailing of its interior at the different scales to which it was to be experienced, were seen to be crucial in creating this integrated development. The various design-build packages were issued to a small number of carefully pre-qualified contractors, this method allowing the design intent of the client to be coordinated and assured while complying with the government’s legal requirements established and monitored by the government’s Central Tenders Committee.

The central of the three photographs above shows an element of the pre-cast concrete external cladding being manoeuvred into position in December 1983, while the lower photograph is a detail of a glass sample reflecting the relatively simple design intent derived from the detailing of traditional architecture of the peninsula. This photograph, taken from its north-east, shows the Diwan al-Amiri over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the trees of the Corniche in January 2002. More will be written on this project elsewhere.

The Diwan al-Amiri was completed and occupied some time ago, and is seen here in this aerial photograph taken in 2011. The photograph illustrates the relationship of the Diwan al-Amiri complex with the Corniche crossing the picture top right – the Ruler’s jetty being just out of picture. The Clock Tower roundabout is in the bottom right of the photograph with the old Diwan al-Amiri building between the Clock Tower and the new Diwan al-Amiri building. It appears that the old building is having work carried out on it and that the parking area north-east of its entrance has disappeared. The photograph shows the Diwan in its relationship with the Corniche, the distancing giving it both a degree of security as well as a comfortable space to view it in urban design terms. The photograph also illustrates clearly the disposition of the three wings of the building; the two office wings on the east and west of the central atrium, the third wing on the north side taking advantage of the views directly over the West Bay.

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Development of al-’Aliya

In order to begin the process of creating and improving recreational activities in the peninsula, the New District of Doha was the location for a request in the following year to Kenzo Tange and Urtec to produce four alternative schemes for the development of jazeerat al ’Aliya, the island immediately to the north of jazeerat al-Safliya. al ’Aliya was selected rather than the nearer island of al-Safliya in order to move facilities further away from Doha, an attempt to avoid concentrating all recreation within, or close to, Doha, even though this was considered to be a part of the recreational project for the NDOD. Although the improvement of recreational resources was considered to be a priority, the project was put on hold and never realised. To the right is an illustration of one of the four Tange and Urtec schemes that were developed for the island.

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The Tower

As was mentioned in the note above on the Corniche, one of the design elements intended as an integral part both of the Corniche as well as Grand Hamad, was a strong vertical element. This would form the northern focus of Grand Hamad as well as identify the location of the Doha’s suq from the Corniche, in a sense balancing the Hotel and Conference Centre that marks the end of the New District of Doha, approximately 2.8 kilometres directly across the West Bay from the tower.

One of the factors for deciding its location was the positioning of the three small reefs, illustrated above, north of the jetty which, it had transpired, would be difficult to remove inexpensively but which might form a suitable base for a tall structure such as a tower. This sketch plan illustrates the organisation of the jetty on which the tower would be located with parking at its base together with a small number of spaces reserved for marine craft that would move people around the bay.

As can be seen from this photograph of the model set between elevational and perspective sketches, the tower itself was envisioned as a pair of hyperbolic parabaloid structures, both standing on end with the accommodation and vertical access elements of viewing platforms and restaurants set between them. For a number of reasons, this project also did not proceed though the perceived need for a visual focus within the bay continued to arise, another solution considered being a tall water jet, similar to that in Lake Geneva which projects water to a height of 140 metres. Today there is an island in the middle of West Bay that provides a similar focus.

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The Senior Staff housing project

In many ways one of the most important projects that was initiated for the NDOD was the provision of housing for government Senior Staff. Its importance was that it encouraged the design of a better standard of house, improved standards of construction were achieved, it brought a cadre of young Qatari professionals into the process of design and construction, and it required closer cooperation between government departments than had previously been the practice.

This aerial photograph is of a part of one of the earlier areas of Senior Staff housing within the NDOD. This was a novel type of design for Qatar, both in its planning and design. The photograph gives an indication of the character of the layout with its primary and secondary traffic circulation or distribution system leading to cul-de-sac groupings, a character of development dealt with elsewhere in more detail. It is interesting to observe the amount of development on the lots but the most important contribution made by the housing was the improvements it brought to housing generally throughout the country.

To show a little more of the character of the New District of Doha as it has developed, this photograph, taken late 2009 and looking more or less north-west from one of the taller buildings in the commercial district lining the Corniche, shows the predominance of two-storey housing. It also illustrates the lack of structures that aid way-finding, something that the sculptures on roundabouts may help with. What are also not visible are local retail centres as they are few and far between in this part of Doha, but there are a number of masaajid constructed to serve the population of the NDOD. One is just visible in the bottom right corner of the photograph. All this development has benefited from the standards introduced with the Senior Staff housing project.

With the unrestrained development of the country, a number of bad and poor practices had developed, demonstrating themselves in both design and construction. There were, of course, concomitant problems with both the construction industry as well as the government and its ability to police these burgeoning activities, but it was realised that the Senior Staff Housing Project could both provide exemplary housing for those who would live there, but also assist the government in improving a number of issues.

Many of the designs that had developed as standard in the country were imported from countries where those designs may have made sense but, in Qatar, did not. Obviously imported styles had little or no relevance to Qatar if they came from the northern Arab states, Indian sub-continent or Europe and the Americas. Moreover, such styles debased, supplanted or prevented the development of a national style in Qatar.

Because of this it was decided to establish a system for designing and approving those designs with the intention of ensuring that those who lived in the houses would not disbenefit from poor design decisions. A competition was held in the first instance and assistance given to designers to suggest improvements.

Much of this supervisory work was carried out by a cadre of young Qatari architects and engineers, employed by the Office of H.H. The Amir, who not only brought improved standards of design and process to the project but, in obtaining professional experience formed a cadre of nationals with practical experience. This enabled government to move them on to other projects in time, disseminating the skills they had learned and widening the knowledge base of nationals, hopefully reducing reliance on expatriate skills.

One of the first benefits to be experienced was improved cooperation between government departments. With the development of the ministries noted above and relating to construction, chiefly the Ministries of Public Works, Electricity and Water and Transport and Communications, there was a tendency for their departments to plan and resolve their individual problems without reference to other activities that were, or were likely to be carried out in the same area. The most visible evidence of this was the installation of services in newly laid roads, an issue that caused increasing irritation both within and outside government.

A committee was established in the New District of Doha, meeting weekly, with the purpose of coordinating all utilities. In this it was relatively successful, the main difficulty in preventing trenching in new roads was the increasing electricity loads required of upwardly mobile residences. As a result of the success of the committee, the concept of coordinatation was then imposed on the rest of the peninsula with varying degrees of success.

Another area of improvement was that which dealt with the contracting industry working in the New District of Doha. A proper system of prequalification was introduced to all contractors hoping to work in the area, a system that looked at the overall capabilities of the contractor and particularly their supervisory staff. Equipment is not necessarily a problem in the peninsula, though its maintenance may be, but it is staffing and their capabilities that can be problematic. The prequalification encouraged companies to structure and staff themselves properly, and to put in place any requirements that were deemed missing.

At the same time, the quality of materials and their testing and incorporation were examined in order that those used on the various buildings should be of good quality, suited to their purpose and installed appropriately. Samples were demanded, testing required and written statements produced relating to work methods.

In addition to all this, books were produced for every house incorporating their plans, utility systems and maintenance schedules together with planting palettes and recommendations for good practice, essentially a maintenance manual for each site.

The evolution of the Senior Staff housing was beneficial to the State in many ways, not just to those living in the housing. It was a significant advance in the development of the construction industry, government structures, standards and personnel. As such these improvements were passed into the general benefit of the national community.

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Planning blight and demolition

Planning blight has been mentioned elsewhere. Commonly it is seen in the context of the loss experienced by owners whose properties are down-valued as a result of adjacent properties being poorly maintained, or demolished. This in turn may be due to planning requirements changing or being delayed, or the market being unable to sustain development of the appropriate character. While I have suggested that the meaning of blight differs in Qatar, there is a significant amount of demolition around the major centres, particularly Doha, as ground is prepared for further redevelopment, usually at a higher density or over a greater area. Those who live in Qatar have become used to this, though the process brings about not only problems associated with dust, nuisance and increased traffic but, often not fully recognised, difficulties associated with disorientation and loss.

This photograph is of an old palace on the Rayyan Road with an area of land cleared in front of it for development. In the distance, two of the tall buildings on the New District of Doha can be seen. The photograph illustrates something of the change that is happening at all levels of society. This property is situated in a highly valuable position but, like many of the sites that are being cleared within the inner area of Doha, it is an important landmark in the urban scene as well as in the collective memories of those living in Qatar. This in turn has its effect on the way in which planning affects our individual and collective histories.

Conversations with Qataris suggest the latter deal with the issue in a number of ways, to some extent reinforcing their personal links while also increasing for some their concern for the effects of change on their society. It is my intention to write about this on one of the society pages, but it is mentioned here as it appears to me to be an area of planning that needs to be borne in mind, though is rarely considered.

In the meantime, development all over the peninsula, and particularly in Doha, continues apace. It is not possible to build everywhere coevally, which leaves many relatively recent developments behind in this race to build and rebuild. In this first photograph new developments sit beside and behind a building in the centre of Doha. Buildings such as this are commonly used for storage or accommodation for expatriate workers, probably introduced by the building owner. These buildings contribute to the visual blight of the area, and there is little that can be done to improve the street while they exist. But they are now so common as to go unnoticed by nationals who may not even visit these streets, and to be unnoticed by expatriates who are likely to have only a passing interest in the urban scene, and have no commitment to the look of the urban environment due to their having no legal or emotional attachment to the country in which they are residing temporarily.

Yet, in some parts of the centre of Doha there still exist properties, some as single storied developments such as this, catering for the expatriate communities. These and even the decaying building above, nevertheless contribute to the look of the city and to the overall experience of living there. In a sense it can be argued that these buildings and their attendant activities, sounds and smells help to give personality to the city, and bring benefit to those unable to use the more upmarket developments springing up all over it. So, while these properties are blighted, they also cater for many. Incidentally, the shop in the centre has its name, ‘Modern Shop’ transliterated into Arabic rather than it being a translation of the Arabic. That, and the addition of ‘As Seen On TV’, add to the charm of the façade and help to make a positive contribution to the character of the street – though this would be a romantic Western view, rather than a view of nationals.

The important point to bear in mind is that development on the scale in which Qatar is changing relies on expatriate skills and labour, the expatriates requiring accommodation and servicing, and much of it being in buildings such as those above – inexpensive properties which, generally, means old buildings in a poor state of repair and a continuing feature of the urban environment.

more to be written…

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Planning for the future

This aerial photograph of Doha and its immediate environs was taken by NASA on the 10th May 2010. It illustrates the continued growth of metropolitan Doha. Not only is the development of the urban fabric shown increasing to the west and along the road leading to the north of the peninsula, the extent of amendments to the shore line is evident with new development sandwiched between the islands of al-safliya and al-a’aliya.

Note particularly the size of the artificial islands compared with the size of the West Bay, and the shallow waters to the east of al-safliya and the dredged channel to Doha’s port. The new airport development, constructed on reclaimed land to the east of the old airport, is also a notable feature of the extended metropolitan area.

Meanwhile, the government continues to deal with the problems it sees as constraining or affecting development and, in January 2010, announced a crucial stage in its preparation of the Qatar National Master Plan 2032. Looking twenty-two years ahead may seem a long time bearing in mind the different things that may come about in the interim and that might influence policies and goals. But establishing long term goals and objectives creates a framework in which shorter term strategies may be set and met. The presentation suggested that it might take until the end of the year to obtain cooperation with a variety of stakeholders in order to complete the draft which would then go to ‘higher authorities’ for ratification.

What is interesting in the new announcement is the enunciation of their strategies. The plan

• accepts the continuing enlarging of the population which is now stated at 1.6 million, having doubled in the last three years,
• wishes to limit the attraction of Doha by making the six municipalities surrounding it self-sufficient in terms of their facilities, thus limiting travel,
• intends to reduce the population in existing residential areas by enabling people to live closer to their workplaces,
• encourages both nationals and expatriates to use the public transport system, hoping to change the existing public to private transportation ratio from the existing 20:80 to 60:40,
• requires greatly improved public transport links to reduce the existing traffic congestion,
• intends to introduce pay and park systems, again to relieve traffic on the roads,
• will create clusters of civic amenities, probably on vacant land,
• clarifies information to both developers and the public on where to live and what opportunities there are for them, and
• conceives developing special zones solely for Qataris, both existing suburban areas as well as those within the city.

In brief, the plan

• appears to accept the continuing inbalance between national and expatriate populations, itself a reflection of a variety of strategic and commercial strategies,
• seeks to redistribute the population both geographically and nationally, and
• attempts to reorganise traffic models to reduce existing congestion.

All these policies will have a considerable effect on the national population, particularly those having interests in business and development as there is considerable value in land, real estate and the construction industry. The planners have stated that there are discussions being held with private and public groups with an interest in planning. At same time, of course, the plan will be discussed and debated throughout the majlis system which means that all will be aware of it and will begin the process of making representations formally and, particularly, informally in order to take benefit. As I have written in a brief note elsewhere, the Gulf states have developed many of the institutions and organisations of the West, yet the majlis system still operates. This informs the processes and, in many instances, drives them.

Of particular interest is the introduction of overt policies to create areas in which only nationals would live. This is not new, of course, it was practised years ago with the development of the Salata al-jadida area for members of the al-Sulaiti qabila who were moved from their feriq on the east bay of Doha. The Government Senior Staff area in the New District of Doha is also an area reserved for Qatari nationals.

While nationals may have houses in reserved areas, there is at present nothing to stop them leasing their houses to expatriates, a common and useful source of revenue. In addition to this, many expatriate service personnel live within their boundary walls as well as within conversions or additions given over to small shops, again a useful source of revenue as well as providing a necessary retail resource to those living in the neighbourhood.

more to be written…

The Musheireb project

The centre of old Doha has, over time, been downgraded in its importance by the development of business districts in the New District of Doha, Grand Hamad and a number of other areas dispersed in and around Greater Doha, as well as within the peninsula on established urban settlements and new areas based on industrialisation. This has been a part of the natural process of urban, State and commercial development. But one of the consequences has been a materially degraded central suq in Doha. To some extent traditional commerce was reinforced by the demolition and complete redevelopment of the old suq into the tourist attraction known as suq Waqf. This development saw the removal of the central maqbara, the rehabilitation of the Turkish fort and the complete rebuilding of the suq in its original one and two storey forms. Many of the original tradesmen continue to operate from there, but together with more retail outlets suited to its new role as an attraction not just for tourists but also those living in the peninsula, both expatriates and nationals. It is an engaging experiment which appears to be successful.

Together with suq Waqf, the centre of old Doha has been the focus of commercial and business activities since the beginnings of its development over sixty years ago. Adjacent to suq Waqf the area is known as Muhammad bin Jassim, though more popularly as Musheireb and is bounded on the north by the Rayyan Road, the west by shara’ al-Diwan, on the south by shara’ Ali bin Abdullah and, on the east, by the newly redeveloped suq Waqf. It contains the once popular commercial streets of shara’ al kahraba, shara’ Abdullah bin Thani and shara’ al-Asmakh as well as shara’ Musheireb and shara’ suq Waqf.

Around 2005 initiatives were begun with a view to demolishing the whole of this area and building in its place a relatively dense mixed use replacement to be known originally as Dohaland’s ‘Heart of Doha’ project, but now the ‘Musheireb’ project. The notional illustration at the head of this note looks over it from approximately the south and illustrates its relationship with the Ruler’s Offices seen in the centre adjacent to the West Bay and the two storey development of suq Waqf on the right. The Islamic Arts Centre designed by I.M. Pei can be identified top right projecting into the bay.

The project is ambitious in both its scope and intent. Covering around 31 hectares, having had a budget established at around $5.5 billion and destined for completion in 2016, the design is to be established on the five principles of enrichment, environment, heritage, innovation and sustainability and, from a design perspective, there will be an intent to incorporate certain aspects of traditional Qatari architecture such as proportion, simplicity, space, light, layering, ornament and response to climate in the buildings and their environment.

Dohaland will build environments that support and encourage sustainable, innovative communities, enrich individual lives, promote environmentally friendly living and rediscover the heritage and culture that makes a place unique.

However, the most important parameter is to reverse the planning of the past generation by encouraging a more integrated development that reduces the impact of cars and introduces a tighter, urban environment more suited to the region.

At the beginning of 2010, progress on the project was announced in the local press. The first phase of the project focusses on the Diwan al Amiri where its annexe, the Amiri Guard headquarters and the National Archive are based, the area extending to what is termed the ‘heritage quarter’ which incorporates the ’Eid prayer ground and four heritage houses – a company House, Jalmoot House and the houses of Mohammed bin Jasim and Abdullah bin Jassim, the intention being to find a sympathetic use for the buildings. The article goes on to state that:

the first phase infrastructure includes central cooling plant, utilities and waste provision, basement service roads and parking. In the second stage, which will is expected to begin this year and conclude in 2013 a multimedia centre for arts, central hotel and serviced apartments, luxury shopping street, exclusive town house, a primary school, the Ferjan Square mosque and see the first stage of rebirth of Al Kahraba street. The later stages will include a connection to souq wakif, a retail mall, more hotels, offices apartment, shops, a tram system and an underground Metro station hub apart from to Nakeel Square.

All in all, an extremely ambitious project bearing in mind the state of the market at the beginning of 2010 and the general pressures bearing on development in the peninsula and region.

According to the Musheireb summary fact sheet of February 2011, the following gross area land uses will be accommodated within the site:

Land use	Gross floor area in m²	Percentage %
Commercial and government	280,000	36.9
Retail	94,000	12.3
Hotel	117,000	15.4
Residential	220,000	29.2
Community, cultural, school, mosques, museum	47,000	6.3
Total	760,000	100.0 %

in constructions ranging from three to thirty storeys in height, and with the intention of the overall development achieving a LEED Gold rating.

There are four architectural practices working on the Musheireb development – Adjaye Associates, Allies & Morrison, John McAslan & Partners and Mossessian & Partners.

The award-winning project for which Mossessian and Partners are responsible is known as al-Barahat Square and forms the focus of the Musheireb development. The scheme consists of 65,000 m² of civic space comprising nine mixed-use, residential, commercial and retail buildings arranged to create a major public square at the heart of the Mushaireb scheme. This aerial illustration is intended to present a view of al-Barahat Square at night, and suggests that it is designed at a significantly lower density than the illustration at the top of the note which was an indication of the original concept for the development. While it is not always easy to judge schematic illustrations, they do represent the designers’ urban design and architectural intent in visual terms.

It is de rigeur now for all modern designs in Qatar to claim they reflect strategies that will offer sustainability, efficiencies and comfort to users and, often, links with the traditional architecture of the region if not the peninsula. The al-Barahat Square development is no different, nor should it be, of course. The elements of sustainable architecture claimed for this project are those relating to sun, wind and mass together with references to the development of a new vernacular based on traditional Qatari vernacular.

These three illustrations are of the al-Barahat Square looking in different directions along its long axis – the first and second looking one way, the third sketch looking the other way from the head of the square. They demonstrate a number of the devices that the project will use in order to reduce the impact of, particularly, the sun on both the buildings as well as those who move in and around this area of Doha.

The long sides of the square benefit from two protective design devices, arcades and horizontal shading at a high level. The arcades should protect most of the façades at ground floor level, and the horizontal high level devices will give a degree of shading to the façades above ground level which, themselves, appear to have been designed as screens or brise soleil, both sensible architectural devices responding to a need to guard against solar penetration during hot periods of the year, though not necessarily in the winter months when the sun may be beneficial to occupants, both for light and heat. It is also worth noting the need to permit views to the square for psychological reasons. The arcades and high level shading devices will additionally provide some protection against the heavy rains that fall in the winter months.

Having said that, the long axis of the square is oriented approximately east-north-east – west-south-west, which means that the south side of the square will only have the sun catch its façade late in the afternoons, when any form of vertical projection will prevent sunlight entering the building. Under these circumstances the projecting horizontal element at roof level will cast shade into the square, though that on the north side will benefit only the façade of that building. It appears that the designers have elected to create a symmetrical visual balance with the roof shades about the long axis of the square at the expense of a more rational environmentally-oriented solution which would be more in keeping with their stated aims.

The first of the three sketches above illustrates a particular problem of this character of development – the long façade of the pedestrian arcade, apparently glazed, which has no modulation or articulation along it to create interest or attract passers-by. As is accurately shown, it will only reflect the square. One of the problems facing modern architectural interventions, not just in the Gulf, is in introducing something of the character and vitality the suq had in order to liven the area and benefit those having or choosing to walk along that route.

The square can be seen to be relatively open, particularly in the third of the above illustrations. This open character should allow breezes to enter and give a degree of cleansing to its volume. It is notable that there appear to be no functional design elements such as wind towers or scoops to bring high level air movements down to ground level.

This illustration, however, shows that the opportunity to create relatively narrow sikkat has been taken in areas off al-Barahat square, as well as a high level connection, presumably for pedestrian access. It is possible that sikkat such as this will help encourage the funnelling of air movements as well as assist in the production of beneficial environmental microclimates due to their narrow, tall proportions. In this there would be increased benefit, both climatically and psychologically, were there to be the addition of elements of soft landscaping.

From the illustrations above it can be seen that both planting and water have been introduced into al-Barahat Square as design elements. Soft landscaping is an effective element of a design vocabulary introducing as it does, opportunities for colour, smell and movement to bring psychological comfort to those moving around the square or, if it is possible, to those looking out onto it from the buildings forming its perimeter.

But the introduction of fountains may be problematic. Water is commonly introduced to hot countries in the belief that it will help bring comfort through increased humidity and interest from its noise and movement. These are particularly characteristics of fountains. However, Qatar enjoys not an arid but a maritime desert climate and, while not experiencing the discomforting humidity levels of other Gulf capitals, humidity can be uncomfortable on the edges of peninsula. If it is the noise of water that is required, there are better design examples than fountains.

In urban design terms, large squares of the formal character of al-Barahat square are Western introductions; open squares such as this were not a traditional feature of the urban landscape of the peninsula. Where there were open areas they were usually associated with masaajid, where they form the useful function of containing overflow from the masjid as well as creating space for uses associated with its function. While the latter may no longer be a necessity, there is still benefit to be obtained from both urban design and cultural perspectives by defining these structures with an external space. Having said that, there appears to be only three masaajid visible in the first aerial illustration of the overall project.

Architects’ drawings are notorious for missing out elements of our living spaces that we all take for granted and which various commercial and municipal agencies distribute as part of their advertising and administrative or legal functions. In illustrations such as those I can understand that incorporating litter bins and advertisements would be difficult, but I do believe that elements such as lighting, signing and water points would give better verisimilitude to the project though it might be understood from the first illustration that lighting is intended only within the arcades. Some seating is shown but, bearing in mind the references to the square being

an urban room for the development, an urbanised version of the majlis, fostering communication, interaction and integration between different residential communities.

there might usefully be located more seating, some it in formal arrangements suited to a majlis arrangement in order that these important socio-cultural functions might be encouraged to the benefit of these communities.

But the creation of a space of this size, character and regular shape is also suited to its becoming a location for events, both formal and informal, as is suggested by the designers. At this stage in the development of the project it might not be possible to characterise and design for such events, nevertheless the fact that interactions are specifically wished for, it might make sense to consider them now and, if possible, illustrate them. Congregational spaces in Arab cities can be problematic.

The designers have considered reinforcing the possibility of al-Barahat square becoming a centre for nearby communities – it is intended that the area will have a population of 25,000 people – by the creation of a dramatic pavement:

The floor of the square will be ‘carpeted’, clad in gold paving to recreate the richness and warmth of a traditional interior.

It is not possible to determine the extent to which this feature will be effective or benefit those who will use the square, but it introduces another issue.

Glare can be an issue in this part of the region. It is difficult to know how much of an issue glare might be with light reflected from the gold surfaces, but to some extent this will be vitiated by dust and sand. This is a major problem in the region and, in this natural feature, Doha is no different. It is not an insuperable problem and, given that there is a significant number of expatriate workers employed by Doha Municipality, a high quality pavement might work as a design feature. But if this is an important element of the design I would expect to see integrated systems for lighting and water for passers-by established at this stage of the design, together with seating elements as part of its vocabulary. A feature such as this may be damaged both physically and from a design point of view by unconsidered additions following the initial installation. In addition, consideration should be given to permanent markers incorporated into the design, signifying the direction of prayer.

This is an interesting scheme. It will be instructive to see how it develops into its built form, and how that form is taken up and used by those living and working in and around it.

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Doha Festival City

The 5th September 2010 witnessed the signing, by Al-Futtaim, Qatar Islamic Bank and Aqar Real Estate Investment, of a Qrs.6 billion joint venture agreement to construct a state-of-the-art leisure, hospitality, entertainment and retail complex in Qatar. On the 19th October 2011, the ground-breaking ceremony for this major new project, the Doha Festival City development, took place fifteen kilometres north of the centre of Doha on the Shamal Road. The 434,000 sq.m. project is seen as a regional centre comprising a hotel and conference centre, retail, leisure and entertainment elements including Ikea, Toys ‘R’ Us and Marks and Spencer together with automobile showrooms on around 260,000 sq.m. of gross leasable area, with provision for over 8,500 cars to be parked within a managed system. The 32,000 sq.m. Ikea store is scheduled for completion in 2012 with the rest of the project due to be completed by the end of 2014. To give an idea of its position, Umm Salal Muhammad is in the top left corner of this aerial map.

In planning terms, this is a very large project and one which is significant in the strategic planning of Doha if not, as the developers intend, the region. What is notable is that they term the development a city, though it has no residential accommodation other than a hotel, or manufacturing activity, or any of the other elements which go towards constituting what this term is usually understood to mean. They go on to state on their website that the project is seen to have very good links not only with the centre of Doha – fifteen kilometres away, and the airport – twenty-two kilometres away, but also with Bahrein – when the causeway linking the two States is completed, reinforcing their view of the impact of the project.

It is claimed that its position will be ideally equipped to meet the retail and entertainment needs of Qatar, as well as those of neighbouring GCC countries, by which I would assume they are referring both to Bahrein as well as Saudi Arabia which already has a causeway link to Bahrein as well as a land link through Salwa in the south-west of the peninsula. It is not clear if they are also anticipating attracting customers from the United Arab Emirates which is a significantly greater distance away.

Qatar already has a large number of retail and entertainment outlets, many of them high-end facilities as is envisaged with this development. Not only that, but the surrounding States also have similar facilities, many of them targeted at the higher ends of their own different markets. It may be seen to be a little unfair, but these illustrations, albeit taken from a low-quality promotional video, show something of the intent of the developers, the difficulty being that they appear not to match the rhetoric which accompanies the video. Put another way, the images seem to illustrate the character of mall developments which can be found already in Qatar and the region, whereas it must be assumed that, for the hopes of the investors to be realised, it should be anticipated that the public spaces and attractions within or associated with the project should be extraordinary in their different respects in order to attract the numbers of visitors necessary for the project to be viable.

The developers intend that Festival City should operate for much of the day, their aim being to encourage people to visit the various attractions there, staying for as long as the facilities can hold them over the day. This is likely to be the goal of many of the operators of similar malls in Qatar, these commercial operations naturally being in competition with each other. In their favour, staffing the facilities will not be a problem as expatriates will form virtually all this element. Access to the development will be relatively inexpensive due to the low cost of fuel, but the road and parking systems will have to operate easily in order to attract people from a distance.

What is particularly interesting in the promotional video is the equating of the shopping experience with passive leisure – ‘keeping people entertained with a variety and diversity of international and local brands while enveloped in a lush environment…’ – an issue written about elsewhere, and a concept which is at the very heart of commercial developments in many parts of the world where designers strive to create experiences for visitors, in order to attract, detain and entertain and so encouraging them to part with their hard-earned money.

It has to be assumed that the investors have carried out the necessary work to assure themselves that the project will be viable. In planning terms it is difficult to relate population to retail floor area as this has varied over time and incorporates a number of factors which are difficult to define and determine at a distance. Understanding of disposable income is certainly a necessity, but that is not the only function. Qatar has a very unusual economic profile; two of its characteristics are that it is extremely rich from its natural resources, and that it has a significant minority of its population native to the country. Associated with this is the fact that while Qataris benefit from the wealth of the State, the expatriates who make a living there generally will be attempting to save what they can in order to help themselves and their families on their return to their home countries. This implies that there are limited disposable funds by expatriates, particularly from the manual workforce available to spend in these large mall developments.

A variety of factors attract visitors to developments such as this. Some of these are difficult to define and relate to issues which are accidental, indefinable or temporal. Doha Festival City appears from this initial exposure to be similar to many other developments in the region. Though larger, it is competing with them and its positioning some way from the centre of Doha may not work to its advantage while theoretically weakening the commercial developments planned for, and being carried out, within Doha, if not elsewhere in the peninsula. The issues of identity imposed by advertising and branding are looked at elsewhere, but although the development may prove a long-term attraction, like many of the other commercial projects, there may not be the population available to fill the large malls and provide returns to the investors.

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Barwa Commercial Avenue

At the end of 2011 the press reported the completion of the first phase of the Barwa Commercial Avenue project. Announced as a joint venture between Hochtief and Barwa Real Estate Company in 2008, the project is due to open in March 2012 with completion scheduled by the end of the year. Barwa Commercial Avenue is stated as being the longest single strip development project in the world. The project is situated mainly on Muntazah Road in the Ain Khaled district, south-west of Doha, linking the industrial areas south of the capital with the existing southern extent of its urban fabric. Its position is illustrated in red on the adjacent aerial photograph where it is instructive to look at the scale of the project, as well as the state of adjacent developments at the time it was initiated.

This is another large mixed-use project and is comprised of five buildings in its eight kilometre length. The type of building is similar in many respects to the traditional character of development commonly seen in Doha with commercial units established on the ground and mezzanine levels above which are two floors of office, residential and retail units. It is interesting to compare it with the Doha Festival City development, Barwa having around 200,000 sq.m. of retail area served by 5,560 car parking spaces. What is different from the Doha Festival City development is that Barwa will have residential accommodation, in this case, 462 single, two and three bedroom apartments.

The project appears to be targeted at the upper end of the market, particularly noting its hope to attract young Qatari businessmen who will be able to engage in a ‘self-sustaining and business oriented lifestyle catering to entrepreneurs who expect contemporary elegant residences, efficient offices and convenient shopping options at their fingertips’.

It is unusual to have such a long linear development deliberately planned in this manner, but there are advantages in the creation of an understood form of development which appears to have more convenient parking relationships than higher density developments. It might also be considered that the lineal form of the development will make it more flexible, compared with large, integrated developments. However, although the developer states that there will be shopping malls and spacious public spaces, there appears to be no internal circulation system providing relief from the harsher times of the year.

On a rather different note the illustrations of the project are interesting in that they show something of the design intent. The first of these sketches show the corner of the development. At the south end of the project, the two façades face south-east and south-west but use the same form which appears to have little or no consideration of the environmental conditions which will obtain. It is also unusual in the way there is no articulation of the corner as might have been anticipated with stronger massing or drama to its design.

Generally, the architecture has no relationship with the traditions of the peninsular, however the second sketch shows how it is intended to use a modern form of calligraphy on the façade of one of the buildings. This is an interesting use which should create a memorable advertisement for this part of the development while providing a degree of functionality. The calligraphy will help in screening the sun and should prove to be an important element of the building’s appearance at night.

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The Alpha project

The winner of a limited international design competition for a mixed use development in Doha’s New District of Doha, the Alpha project is, at first glance, visually unsettling in that it is a dramatic departure from the various and different styles of architecture that have already been brought to the peninsula from abroad. This illustration shows its appearance fronting onto the State Plaza with the triangular form of the Sheraton hotel over the West Bay on the skyline.

The project has a very important location, being sited at the east end of the road, Khalifa Street, which leads down the hill from the television studios roundabout to the continuation of the ‘A’ ring road, Majlis al-Taawon street, which acts as one of the main distributors into the New District of Doha. As can be seen in this location plan, the site of the Alpha project is interposed between the ‘A’ ring road and the Corniche – the ceremonial link with the New District of Doha – on the bay side of which is the State Plaza. Separated by a feeder road, on the north side of the site is the General Post Office building and, to the south of the site and contiguous with it, is the development originally designed and constructed as the Ministry of Information, now the Qatar Museums Authority. In a sense the Alpha project can be seen as being located at the entrance to the New District of Doha, separating Doha of the nineteen seventies with its subsequent expansion north.

The importance of the project lies in its attempt to combine a number of initiatives and design principles into a coherent response to, specifically, the environmental impositions of the maritime desert climate presented at this point of the peninsula. In doing so the scheme intends to be a sustainable development utilising passive design principles allied with energy derived from the wind and sun to create an environmentally discrete system similar, in a sense, to the much larger Masdar development of the United Arab Emirates.

The first of these three sketches illustrates the intended principles of utilising solar panels and wind turbines mounted on the buildings with collection, treatment, storage and distribution systems for rainwater and grey water, together with on-site desalination from the shallow body of water provided by the West Bay.

The second sketch illustrates other environmental principles to be utilised by the building. Shading of the building, when necessary, will be provided by screening on the façade while, on the ground pergolas and planting will create a shaded environment for those using the areas around the buildings. Water fountains and streams are intended to be used to create a fresh atmosphere while the buildings themselves will act as natural ventilating systems, this being supplemented at ground level by smaller wind towers to create air movement and ventilation.

This third sketch is of the façade of the building which design appears to be based on two principles. The first is functional, incorporating into the façade of the building solar panels together with shading devices. The second principle is an applied geometrical approach and is based on girih tiles, a character of patterning recently identified with some Islamic design work. This geometry is to be applied at both a large and detailed scale of sub-divisioning both on the façade as well as in elements of shading at lower levels. It appears that this is not structural and is likely to be self-supporting.

This sketch illustrates how the geometric treatment of the façade is moved into the lower horizontal planes in and around the buildings with the intention of creating a unity of design for those moving around the project. This is, perhaps, one of the more notional illustrations for the project, but given that the intention is to create a universal architectural vocabulary, this might well be conceptually true, though will require considerable change in reality.

It is intended that the geometric design vocabulary evolves into the areas surrounding the buildings where it will provide a background both to the shading and divisioning or partitioning systems, but also three-dimensional frames within which soft landscaping and water elements will be located together with wind towers or scoops providing ventilation and cooling systems in and around the development.

The design principles set out at the head of this note are sound and relevant to the need to reduce the impact of buildings on depleting resources. But this scheme is, in large measure, conceptual as are many competition entries; it will take time to see how the various principles are incorporated within realistic design elements, and how efficacious those elements are likely to be.

Because of this it is not possible at this stage to make a detailed critique of some aspects of the project, though there are one or two elements worth mentioning. While the development is partly based on traditional environmental systems, there appears to be a misunderstanding of at least one element of control, that of using water to increase humidity. Qatar has a relatively humid climate and, with the site being located beside the sea, it is not a good idea to try to increase humidity. There may also be an issue with wind as there is a significant diurnal pattern to littoral developments and there will need to be considerable research into wind direction and strength patterns in order to incorporate effective turbine systems both within the building as well as at grade surrounding the development.

In a sense, the preceding comments relate to details that would be a part of the natural development of the project from sketch to detailed design. What has to be borne in mind is that much traditional design and constructional knowledge has been lost with industrialisation. With the increasing trend to use natural resources there is a significant amount of investigation to be accomplished if these elements of design are to be rediscovered, proved effective and contribute significantly to the stated objectives of the project. In this process, much of the original design may need to be amended.

With regard to the urban design aspects of the project there are three areas of additional comment to make. The first relates to the location of the project.

The position of the development is, as stated earlier, significant strategically as not only does it mark the entrance to the New District of Doha for those moving along the Corniche and ‘A’ ring road, but it is also at the entrance to Doha in its location around the West Bay by those coming from Medinat Khalifa. With the Qatar Museum Authority on the north side of this visual axis the buildings create a heavy emphasis to the south of it with, as this illustration shows, the shaded side prominent.

The development is around 100,000 sq.m. and needs to have a relatively tall component in order to achieve its permitted density. Having said that, it can be seen from these typical floor diagrams that there is a significant amount of unusable space in the plan form that has been developed. The designers have opted for three towers with interconnections at a high level, links which will provide a significant element at this important location. As a wayfinding symbol it occupies a crucial position.

While its height has been kept similar to many other buildings in the New District of Doha, the form it takes is heavy due to the facetted form it takes. The crystalline structure selected creates an irregular mass unlike, for instance, the Burj building which has a strongly geometrically defined façade, but applied to a regular form. As a consequence, this latter building has a light appearance compared with the Alpha project although, with the light shining on it as in this photograph, it will appear lighter, even if its form is heavy.

At ground level the articulation of the buildings is replicated in the treatment of the containing forms that will define areas and lead people around the project. I have written elsewhere about concern for the amount of development and the ability for it to sustain social structures. This is a mixed use development but it will compete with all the other developments for users, both those having business within the structures as well as those visiting to enjoy its ambiance. Few people walk in Qatar, so there will need to be extensive parking as well as land uses that will attract and entertain those who have chosen to visit.

There are many elements of this project to commend. But there seems to me to be no connection with anything in the traditional vocabulary of the peninsula that would relate this modern development to the past. Of course there will be some who will feel that to be an unnecessary design parameter, however, every modern intervention can separate a national population further from their heritage. The use of girih geometry plays little part in maintaining a connection. Though I am not against its use I would much prefer to see a more regular geometric solution on what is otherwise an intriguing project. It will be interesting to see how the environmental initiatives develop to create a workable built scheme.

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Qatar National Museum project

At the beginning of 2011, the Qatar Museums Authority announced its intention to develop a new Qatar National Museum at feriq al-Salata. The design will be associated with the existing Qatar National Museum which was once the residence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammad al-Thani. In this aerial photograph of the conceptual model, the old residence is the orthogonal building complex aligned almost on the axis to Mecca, this photograph looking approximately south-east. The Corniche and the waters of the east bay of Doha are on the left of the photograph.

The project is sculpted in the vocabulary of the delicate crystalline desert rose formations that are found in the desert, its curvilinear forms in strong contrast to both the old, restored buildings of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim as well as the modern additions of the early nineteen-seventies. In this photograph, looking from the east bay, the old two-storey building can be seen just right of centre.

This photograph is essentially a closer photograph than that above and illustrates, from the same axis, the main entrance to the project, apparently viewed from the Corniche.

It is significant that although the new project might be considered to be an extension – albeit a large one – it is conceived as a novel institution designed as a series of sculpted spaces within which oral histories will be projected around the visitors. These spaces are moulded around the existing museum turning it from the defensive structure it would have been under Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim to an introverted, passive resting or recreational space that the architects relate to the open, internal volume of a traditional caravanserai…

…that supported the flow of commerce, information and people across desert trade routes – and so gives concrete expression to the identity of a nation in movement.

Its strategic importance is that the contents of the building are intended to present Qatar’s culture both in its physical and immaterial forms. It is from this standpoint that the references to a caravanserai seem most relevant; the building will be experienced in a different way from the other museums in Qatar in that visitors should come away with a stronger understanding of the peninsula and the socio-cultural history of its people than when they entered, this understanding having been formed by a stronger volumetric immersion than is obtained in the more traditional focus on objects that is the chief characteristic of most museums.

In this regard it seems to be an apposite treatment for the building to be seen as introverted in its plan relationship with the residential development of Sheikh Abdullah. Moreover the selection of the crystallised sand forms derived from the desert rose also seem relevant both notionally as well as structurally in their intrinsic ability to contain a variety of non-orthogonal volumes within references to a naturally occurring material of the peninsula. It is also worth noting that the contrast of the shapes of the building should provide a dramatic counterfoil to the old buildings, though it is not yet known what material and finish they will have.

The model shows no soft landscaping. Whether this is deliberate or not is not possible to know at this stage of the project’s development. While soft landscaping is usually a requirement of clients, the model appears to hold its own with only hard surfaces illustrated. If this is true for the exterior of the building, a distinction might be considered, similar to a caravanserai, where the internal courtyard would be the area where water and plants are located to enhance the experience for travellers resting there.

While much of the intent must, for now, be taken on trust, there is no reason to think that the new museum will be nothing other than a success in its rationale, guided in large measure by the quality of this architecture. It will be interesting to see how this sketch model will develop as it is detailed with regard to the variety of functions it has to provide.

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New College of Engineering project

In Autumn 2011, the winning scheme of a competition for a proposed College of Engineering was announced. Its purpose is to expand the capacity of Qatar University with seven faculties comprising those of architecture, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial and mechanical engineering. The project comprises around 60,000 sq.m. on a slightly smaller site and is designed to create a microclimate within it suited to its environmental setting.

The rationale for laying out the two axes upon which the buildings are aligned has been given as having regard for views to two areas: Qatar University with its focus toward the development around the Pearl and al-Safliya island, and south-east to the tall buildings at the north end of the Corniche. The main spine follows the latter line, the three wings aligned east-west – the Pearl/Safliya line. In this way the three wings are best oriented with regard to solar gain. Nevertheless, the spine of the development is aligned on the same axis as Qatar University, immediately to its south-east.

The three wings of the building are further shielded from solar gain by the use of ramps which lead the landscaping onto the building, providing a degree of insulation as well as shielding the south-facing glazed façades which, additionally, are screened. This method of taking landscaping over the building not only helps to protect the building from solar gain but also enables winds to move over the building while softening the visual impact of the building in its landscape. However, bearing in mind that the shamal comes from the north-north-west, having the ramps flowing from the south-east will not benefit the development in this way.

This view of the project looks at the building between two of the wings, looking west. The windows on the left are facing north and will provide significant illumination to those spaces behind them. The roof directly ahead, seen also in the section above, will provide a degree of lighting to the circulation spaces below it. There is no indication of any natural ventilation system though the aerial perspective, shown above, may represent an element in such a system, though is stated as representing a visual reference to the existing Qatar University buildings to its south. The minimal landscaping shown here is assumed to be notional and yet to be developed.

The previous comment is also likely to apply to this illustration of the interior view of one of the wings, apparently taken looking towards the main spine and with a notional landscaping treatment introduced. The sketch suggests that the space is intended to be one in which people can both relax as well as attend formal or informal events. Note that the wings are organised with offices on their south sides, lecture halls and the like on their north sides.

This is another scheme which states its intendtion to take significant advantage of environmental considerations in order to benefit those using the building. Yet its urban design is not as well integrated into its surroundings as it might be, particularly with regard to the north side of the building, as well as with regard to its relationships with the surrounding roads – though this is a general problem and not specific to this design.

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