QATAR EDUCATION CITY: 3 BUILDINGS, QATAR, DOHA, 2006

New buildings for the Qatar Foundation, the Strategic Studies Centre for the Rand Policy Institute, and the Central Library in Education City, Qatar

OMA is designing three buildings for the Qatar Foundation in Education City, a 14 km2 campus composed of international and regional universities, on the outskirts of Doha. The new buildings are the headquarters for the Qatar Foundation, the Strategic Studies Center for the Rand-Qatar Policy Institute, and Education City Central Library.

Qatar Foundation is dedicated to fostering scientific research and community development in the region, and is chaired by Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned. For the Foundation's new headquarters, OMA conceived a generic cube, 57 metres tall, that will contrast sharply with the prevalent irregular-shaped buildings in Education City and in Doha generally. The building's unique form and dilating grid screen / facade make it one of the most distinctive buildings in Education City. The cube is simple on the outside, but carved out to produce a complex interior space for 29,000m2 of offices in three main volumes: the Executive Tower, the Staff Tower, and the Sheikha's wing. These areas are composed around a central outdoor atrium protected from the sun and linked by a system of sky bridges. The building has office space for about 500 people, with meeting rooms, auditorium and lecture facilities.