Few cities in the past century have grown faster or more remarkably than Doha. Gone are the low, adobe buildings and in their place, steel and glass towers stretch into the sky. Yet for all of Doha’s modern success, it can be easy to lose sight of the city’s past and culture. Msheireb Downtown Doha is a response to that. The Business Gateway District is the densest section of Msheireb Downtown Doha. Its 15 buildings include office towers, residential buildings, a hotel and retail shopping. HOK planned the district to support human connection.
The site layout incorporates elements of the historic city grid. Building orientation and massing thoughtfully shades pedestrian walkways and allows prevailing breezes from the nearby bay to pass through the site. Traditional building materials provide proven, time-tested sustainability solutions. Narrow streets prioritize pedestrians, not autos. The district boasts one of the world’s largest underground car parks extending the entire footprint and accommodating 10,000 parked vehicles. In addition, a metro station beneath the district serves as the main hub of Doha’s subway system.
Msheireb Downtown Doha boasts the densest concentration of LEED buildings in the world. All 15 buildings within the HOK-designed Business Gateway Quarter are now LEED Gold certified.