Arab Engineering Bureau have designed new hotel and residences towers for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts that are based on underwater forms and the local coral formations in Qatar's Lusail City. The two adjacent towers will be wrapped in perforated white façades that will be both an aesthetic feature and a means of moderating solar gain. According to Rosewood: "The organic architectural design approach is aimed at respecting the site and

Cultural space developments in the Gulf region continue apace with the opening of a new US$434m (€383m, £328.7m) museum in Doha, Qatar. Designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum resembles a desert rose and has been described as representing a kind of fantasy. "To imagine a desert rose as a basis for a design was a very advanced idea, even a utopian one," said Nouvel. He continued: "To construct

The National Museum of Qatar – expected to become one of the princedom's most striking landmarks – will open its doors in March 2019. Designed by Pritzker award-winning architect Jean Nouvel and constructed by ASTAD Project Management, the new 40,000sq m building will be located on Doha Bay and encircle the recently refurbished old palace of Qatar’s founding father, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani. The museum, which has been in

The Qatar National Library (QNL) in Doha, designed by international architects OMA, has been officially opened by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani. Conceived as a space for reading, socialising and browsing, the building houses more than a million books and space for thousands of readers over an area of 42,000sq m (452,000sq ft). The marble bookshelves, organised around a central triangular space, segue with the

LivNordic’s Katara Beach Club in Doha, Qatar, is set to open at the beginning of October. Located at the Torch Hotel, the two-storey, 4,600sq m (49,514sq ft) club is described as “a unique fusion between Middle Eastern hospitality, Nordic design and treatment heritage, and innovative fitness facilities.” It will include separate male and female floors with gender-separated entrances, an Aurora Borealis light fixture in the relaxation lounges, Nordic bathing rituals,

The architecture firm of Chilean Pritzker Prize winner Alejandro Aravena have won an international competition to design a “pre-eminent” Art Mill museum on the historic waterfront of Doha, Qatar. An international jury today (15 May) announced the selection of Elemental from an eight-strong shortlist, based on their strategies for the Doha Bay site and its links to the wider city. The museum will be built on a complex that has

A team of engineers in Saudi Arabia has proposed how stadium seats in the near future could be made more sustainably using the fibres of palm trees. A five-member group from Al Faisal University submitted the plan as part of a regional innovation competition established by the Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, which is overseeing the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the country. The team’s method involves using

The famous Middle Eastern folk tales of One Thousand and One Nights are the inspiration behind a lavish dome-topped hotel opening imminently in Doha, Qatar. Local practice South West Architecture and Dutch interior designer Marcel Wanders – working in the region for the first time – have collaborated to create the “fantasy-like” Doha Mondrian for hotel operator sbe. Design features are inspired by the local patterns, ornate Arabic writing and

Spa operator Raison d’Etre will open a two-storey, 4,600sq m (49,514sq ft) LivNordic Spa at the Katara Beach Club in the Katara Cultural Village in Doha, Qatar. Set to open in Q1 2017, the Katara Beach Club by LivNordic Spa & Wellness will be on two club floors, with the ground floor for men and the first floor for women. Designed by Gillian Docherty of Studio HBA in Dubai, the

by Kim Megson | 19 Jul 2016

Construction on future World Cup venue the Qatar Foundation Stadium is expected to begin soon, with a contractor reportedly now attached to the project. According to Arabian Business, Cyprus-based engineering firm Joannou & Paraskevaides (J&P) has been awarded the contract to build the 40,000-capacity venue, which will host games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The stadium has been designed by Fenwick Iribarren Architects, who have taken inspiration

by Jane Kitchen | 01 Mar 2016

The 50-storey Shangri-La Hotel, Doha has opened in the Qatari capital, with 272 bedrooms as well as the brand’s signature CHI The Spa. The hotel includes an aquamarine lagoon-shaped pool set on a 2,000sq m (21,528sq ft) deck surrounded by 70 leafy trees, as well as a health club with 24-hour fitness centre, sauna and steamrooms. Designed by H.O.K. Architects, the Shangri-La Hotel, Doha also includes 42 serviced apartments and

by Tom Anstey | 19 Aug 2015

26 high-profile names have been selected from a field of nearly 500 as the architectural elite battle it out for the chance to convert a flour mill in Qatar into an art gallery. The three-stage Doha Art Mill development had 489 entries total from 56 different countries across five continents, with Renzo Piano, David Chipperfield and Atelier among the 26 names on the long-list. Selected on the basis of two