Traditional architecture
A number of astonishing archaeological sites are now open to visitors, providing a better understanding of how Qatar functioned when it was still a small fishing and trading nation. The Al Khor site, for example, is home to three cylindrical towers with thick walls topped by platforms that enabled the occupants to guard and defend the precious water sources, whose remains of wells and cisterns are evidence of ancestral human occupation. On the same site, you can discover the Ain Heetan well, cylindrical in shape and designed with an ingenious mix of gravel, clay and plaster. A new site will soon open to visitors, featuring a complex composed of the Barzan Tower, with its astonishing T-shaped silhouette, 3 storeys high and 14 m wide, and the rectangular Al Burj Al Sharqui Tower, with its thick, mud-coated stone walls. In general, most settlement sites were equipped with a cylindrical or rectangular stone protection tower. Forts are other interesting examples of this defensive architecture. Don't miss Fort Al Rekayat, again probably built to protect a well. With its rectangular plan, vast central courtyard lined with narrow, windowless rooms, 3 rectangular towers and a round tower, it is typical of large desert forts. But the archaeological site in Qatar not to be missed is of course Al Zubarah, now a Unesco World Heritage Site. Here you'll find the eponymous fort, with its large rectangular enclosure and crenellated corner towers, but above all the remains of the ancient coastal town of Al Zubarah, a thriving fishing and pearl-trading center in the 18th and 19th centuries. Abandoned in 1811, the town gradually eroded away, but the desert sand has nevertheless protected the remains of all its monuments (fort, mosques, palaces, courtyard houses, souks, defensive walls) as well as traces of its ingenious water management and distribution system. The building materials used were typical of coastal towns. Walls were made from fossilized coral cut into blocks and glued together with a mixture of clay and manure, combined with gypsum-based plaster to retard the effects of erosion. In the heart of the towns, houses were mostly built of earthen blocks. Roof construction techniques were common. Flat roofs were made from mangrove branches, over which layers of bamboo or reeds were laid, followed by palm fronds, the whole being stabilized by the addition of layers of soil. A roof made of plant materials for insulation and ventilation. These simple materials were often decorated with geometric motifs borrowed from Islamic vocabulary. Whether they were fishing villages or inland towns, they all shared an urban design adapted to the harsh climate. The urban fabric is made up of narrow alleyways, protected from the wind and heat by the high density of the surrounding houses. Similarly, everything in domestic architecture is designed to limit the effects of the climate: the houses have no openings to the outside, and if they do exist, they are protected by heavy wooden shutters (in very rare cases, geometric windows in colored glass may be used); the walls are thick to preserve coolness; the central courtyard around which the house is organized provides shade and coolness, while the badgir or wind tower ensures constant air circulation. This is an ingenious ventilation system resembling a 4-sided chimney with vertical slits at the top to catch the wind, while the interior is divided into different ducts to separate upward and downward currents and, through a play of pressure, evacuate warm air and bring in fresh air. The two key areas of the house are the Majlis, literally "the place to sit", a cultural and social space where guests are received; and the Al-Liwan gallery (or porch) overlooking the courtyard, which is reserved for the family. Colorful floor carpets, intricate wooden latticework on the windows, carved wooden doors... the decor is sober and sublime. Some of Doha's older quarters, such as Al Asmakh, Najada and Old Ghanim, are still picturesque examples of this traditional architecture. And don't miss the Al Wakrah Heritage Village, a mix of authentic traditional buildings and reconstructions, with its mosque, mud-walled houses with large wooden doors, fort with circular towers and souk. A veritable city within a city, the Souq Waqif is another symbol of traditional Qatar, with its narrow streets flanked by stores and high wooden beams protecting passers-by from the sun. Opened in 2010, Katara Village is an unlikely blend of eras and styles straight out of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani's dreams of grandeur. If you can overlook its Greco-Roman amphitheatre or its deceptively Parisian Galeries Lafayette, you shouldn't miss its beautiful Katara Mosque, firstly because it was designed by a woman, Zeynep Fadilloglu, and secondly because this beautiful edifice, all gilded and bluish enamel tiles, is flanked by astonishing cylindrical earthen buildings pierced with holes that are none other than... pigeon lofts! Pigeon racing is a very popular activity in the Persian Gulf countries. Finally, this overview of traditional architecture would not be complete without a mention of the architecture developed by desert nomads. In winter, they prefer traditional tents made of skins or fabrics, generally black and white, forming a sort of pyramidal canopy with an awning; while in summer, they prefer airy temporary structures woven from palm leaves. The new Al Wakra souq, little brother of the Waqif souq, is also a success on the seafront.
Contemporary effervescence
The city's palaces, like the former palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, superbly restored with its square-plan silhouette, first floor punctuated by arcades, openings protected by elegant moucharabiehs and a large roof terrace, or the more grandiose Palais Princier ; like its mosques, like the great Fanar Mosque(Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Mosque) blending modern lines and natural materials (coral, terracotta, wood), though all sublime, seem quite modest compared to the giants of glass and steel rising from the ground everywhere. Like all Gulf capitals, Doha is a city whose skyline is constantly evolving with the construction of ever taller and crazier skyscrapers. Among the most astonishing are those of MZ Architects, whose Al Dana Tower (also known as RasGas Tower) is made entirely of glass and steel, with its two parallelepipeds seeming to hold an astonishing glass sphere in weightlessness; the Navigation Tower, with its 220 m of curves and aerodynamics reminiscent of a ship's sail; and the Zig Zag Towers, whose name alone sums up the architectural project.
Among the city's other incredible skyscrapers, don't miss: the Aspire Tower, the city's tallest tower (300 m), a kind of stylized torch with a steel mesh protecting a concrete core, symbolizing the Olympic flame from the Asian Games held in Doha in 2006; the Tornado Tower, with its hyperbolic shape and lighting effects that animate the whole like a whirlpool; or the WOQOD Tower, a kind of ship's hull housing an immense curtain wall. But these skyscrapers are just one facet of the architectural and urbanistic effervescence transforming the city. The biggest names in architecture have found in Qatar a land of limitless experimentation (and funding!), giving rise to some incredible projects.
The National Library is the work of Rem Koolhaas. Its sober, angular exterior hints at the incredible staging of the interior space, with its millions of references available to readers thanks to ultra-modern automated systems. At the heart of the building, 6 m below ground level, the architect imagined the Heritage Library, which resembles an archaeological dig and houses the most precious manuscripts. The great Ieoh Ming Pei designed the Museum of Islamic Art, whose domes, geometric shapes, vaults and water features elegantly blend traditional borrowings with modern lines. Arata Isozaki designed the Qatar Foundation, whose ornamentation is inspired by Islamic motifs, and the Qatar National Convention Centre, whose façade features jujube trees from Palestine, often considered the trees of knowledge, supporting the structure. Cesar Pelli, for his part, eschewed skyscrapers to create Sidra Medicine, a hospital silhouetted in steel, glass and ceramic tiles, with three immense structures reminiscent of the sails of a ship, and numerous planted atriums adorned with basins in the great Islamic tradition. Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, for his part, has devoted himself entirely to university buildings (Georgetown University campus, Hamad Bin Khalifa University dormitories, Carnegie Mellon campus), offering simple, sober geometric volumes in sandy colors, with few openings to the exterior but organized around elegant, refreshing landscaped courtyards.
The most talked-about building, however, is the Qatar National Museum designed by Jean Nouvel. It's impossible to miss this imposing 350-metre-long building, with its large curved discs, intersections and cantilevered elements in a sandy-beige high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete skin reminiscent of a sand rose. Everything here is curved and oblique, inviting you to discover the space in an almost sensory way. This impression is reinforced by the lighting created by architect Koichi Takada, who drew inspiration from the Dahl Al Misfir, Qatar's famous Cave of Light, to create theatrical lighting effects.
Other stunning contemporary buildings not to be missed include : hamad International Airport, with its curved silhouette, wave-like roof, glass walls, elegant wooden ceiling and beautiful vaulted structures; the Doha metro stations designed by the UNStrudio agency, with their monolithic exteriors reminiscent of traditional architecture, and their interiors full of light and fluidity, with their pearlescent-effect coatings; or the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, with its mosque resting on 5 large columns representing the 5 pillars of Islam and 2 concrete ribbons rising skywards towards Mecca. The latter is part of a complex known as Education City, a kind of new city entirely dedicated to knowledge, each element of which combines tradition and modernity. Another astonishing urban project: Msheireb, the world's1st project dedicated to the sustainable regeneration of a city center. 5,000 solar panels on the roofs, streets designed to protect from the sun, the largest covered square in the Middle East with a huge retractable roof, a battery-powered streetcar, planted areas... this new district aims to be modern and sustainable. Sustainability is not exactly on the agenda of the two pharaonic projects currently underway: The Pearl, an archipelago of artificial islands with tourist resorts and marinas; and Lusail, a megalopolis built for the modest sum of 46 billion dollars.. here you'll find the Marina Twin Towers, with their silhouettes reminiscent of Lego blocks; the Katara Towers, two curved towers joining to form a horseshoe; the Lusail Plaza Towers, two sets of twin towers arranged on 4 symmetrical podiums; and the future Lusail Museum, designed by the famous duo Herzog & de Meuron, which will house the world's largest collection of oriental paintings. And other mega-museums are soon to open, such as the Qatar Auto Museum designed by Rem Koolhaas and the Mill Art Museum by Chilean designer Alejandro Aravena, who has preserved the original grain silos while adding others that he uses as ventilation shafts. The center is also intended to be a model of ecological and sustainable building.
All these projects were unveiled to coincide with the 2022 FIFA World Cup, for which the country has invested no less than $220 billion. A pharaonic sum which, among other things, financed the construction of 8 stadiums with astonishing silhouettes. With its aerodynamic curves and wooden vault inspired by dhows, the Stade Al Janoub bears the hallmark of the famous Zaha Hadid. Inspired by traditional bowls and lanterns, the Lusail Stadium was designed by Norman Foster. The Stade Al Bayt, on the other hand, is a tribute to the Bedouin tents known as "bayt al sha'ar", whose canopy structure and black-and-white polychromy it reproduces. Education City Stadium, meanwhile, has been dubbed the "diamond of the desert", thanks to its light-reflecting structure made from local or recycled materials. Designed by Ibrahim Al Jaidah, one of Qatar's most famous architects, the Al Thumama Stadium borrows its curves and decoration from the traditional embroidered caps known as Ghafiyah. But perhaps the most astonishing of all is the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, built from recycled containers and entirely demountable. With all its grandiose projects, the small emirate is on its way to becoming one of the countries in the world with the highest concentration of recipients of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, the Nobel Prize for architecture... and all Doha's futuristic urban projects yet to come promise many more surprises for visitors!
