Haute Qatar

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Cutting edge architecture and design are colliding with Islamic tradition to revitalise the once sleepy Gulf state.

In a recent report on the current status of the construction industry in Qatar, Proleads Global found a plethora of projects moving forward in the country. In fact, the market research firm found 191 ongoing projects that it classified as ‘major', which, all tolled, were valued at US $82.5 billion.

The projects range from real estate and civil infrastructure to leisure and entertainment and, while 82% of the projects are late, budgets have not been affected and all of them are continuing steadily. By way of comparison, according to a February 2009 Proleads report, more than half of the UAE's projects across the same sectors have been postponed.

"While the Qatar economy is not immune to the global economic slowdown, it is expected to continue a reasonable rate of growth this year," said Emil Rademeyer, director of Proleads Global. "[The growth] is driven by the benefits from a long-term strategy to export liquefied natural gas from its vast gas field."

"Qatar is starting to see a return on the investments it made in natural gas 20 years ago," explained Zeyad Al Jaidah, co-founder and managing director of TechnoQ, a Doha-based subcontractor that has outfitted several of the country's projects with everything from a/v, broadcast and IT to lighting, security and fire systems.

"The government only makes long-term deals when it comes to oil and gas. That way, if countries want the gas or don't want the gas, they pay. If they have somewhere to store it or nowhere to store it, they pay... Natural gas has been a really a wonderful thing for Qatar. We got into it when no one else wanted to deal with the headaches associated with producing, storing and transporting it," said Al Jaidah.

On the architecture front, Ibrahim Jaidah, managing director of Doha's Arab Engineering Bureau, doesn't see the economic slowdown that has affected much of the rest of the world, coming to Qatar anytime soon.

"Whether it's government-owned or private sector, growth in Qatar is steady, healthy and mature," explained Jaidah during an interview with Architect in early April. "Whether it's hotels or high-rises, in Qatar, more and more projects are happening and there are quite a few currently on the design table."

Courting international firms and signature architects is nothing new for the growing desert nation. With the 2006 Asian Games under its belt and a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games in the works, it seems that rapid development is happening on two separate but related fronts: projects and profiles.

From what Architect has heard, Qatar is quickly becoming the Middle East's new playground for architects, designers and engineers. To that end, we visited Qatar to get the lowdown on some of its highest profile projects.

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