Squire & Partners were part of a prestigious team of UK architects who collaborated on the Msheireb Downtown Doha masterplan,  establishing a new civic centre in the historical capital city Doha.  I was involved in two of the six buildings designed by Squire & Partners, TO7 and S03.

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Msheireb Downtown Doha required the creation of a new vernacular rooted in Qatari culture, which the practice responded to by fusing traditional Qatari architecture with a modern and sustainable approach to design.

Designs responded to the masterplan guide which took cues from historic proportions, simple forms, informal arrangement of buildings, active rooftops, the use of layering and ornamentation to modify light, and a strong emphasis on sustainability responding to the challenges of the local environment.

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TO7 is expressed as a series of volumes varying in height, the development rises to 13 storeys towards the busy Wadi Msheireb and reduces in scale as it approaches the quieter Sikkat Wadi Msheireb. Crisply detailed facades are animated with patterned bronze Mashrabiya screens and angled metal panels. The development provides 93 apartments, a swimming pool on a raised podium and retail and restaurant uses at street level.

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SO3 is a six storey development that addresses Al Khail Street and forms part of a series of buildings with distinctive overhanging canopies. Expressed as a grouped trio of rectangular forms beneath this unifying canopy, the design features a cut-out corner animated by a series of projecting balconies with patterned Mashrabiya screens. The stone canopy covers a series of small rooftop volumes with pocket courtyards, inspired by traditional Ali Akbar Ahmed housing.