Dutch architectural consultants, the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), have been appointed as master planners for Doha’s new Airport City, it has been announced.
The consultancy has worked on a variety of major projects, including the Taipei Performing Arts Centre, the Television Cultural Centre in Beijing, the Shenzen Stock Exchange and De Rotterdam, the largest building in the Netherlands.
The 10km2 development will have 200,000 people living and working on it, and will link the new Hamad International Airport with the city of Doha, said Rem Koolhas, a partner at the consultancy.
“We are delighted and honored to participate in the exciting growth of Doha, in a project that is perhaps the first serious effort anywhere in the world to interface between an international airport and the city it serves,” he added.
OMA’s master plan is a series of four circular districts along a spine parallel to the HIA runways, intended to create a strong visual identity and districts with unique identities, Koolhas said.
Phase One of the 30-year master plan, which links airside and landside developments for business, logistics, retail, hotels, and residences, will be mostly complete in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“Doha’s Airport City is an important addition to the realization of OMA’s work in urbanism and will incorporate unprecedented transport planning opportunities; we look forward to collaborating with the HIA to meet the objectives of this ambitious project,” said Iyad Alsaka, partner-in-charge at the firm.
Each district of Airport City will be individualistic within the master plan’s overall identity. The Business District will center on a major new transport hub linking with greater Doha; the Aviation Campus will accommodate office headquarters and educational facilities for aviation authorities; the Logistics District will provide cargo and warehousing facilities; and the Residential District, adjacent to the new Doha Bay Marina, will accommodate future employees.
A Green Spine connects the districts, echoing their individual identities as it runs north-south. The landscaping scheme, developed by Michel Desvigne, is a new public space for Doha that will be used by residents and tourists.
A network of public spaces, gardens and plazas will stretch across the site, surrounded by a “Desert Park,” the consultancy said.
The Airport City master plan and development of its individual elements is being led by partner-in-charge Iyad Alsaka, project director Slavis Poczebutas and associate Katrin Betschinger.
Before the 2022 World Cup, Airport City infrastructure and utilities will be completed along with the Western Taxiway and Aircraft Parking System adjacent to the HIA 2nd runway, the HIA Visa Building, and the visual concept planning of the future transport hub.
ifpinfo
12 March
