A brief background to planning in Qatar

This page of notes is intended to relate to the history of physical planning in Qatar. Comments should be read in the light of their historical context rather than with regard to either what exists today or to modern planning orthodoxy as, like much else, the profession of planning has moved on and is now a far more complex operation than it used to be. Nowadays a greater range of issues are examined, utilising a wider range of techniques, and more people are aware not just of the process and their place within it, but of the likely results of alternative decisions. In considering the history of planning and its development within the State it would be useful to have read the notes dealing with the socio-cultural background to the region as the traditional way of deciding on anything having an impact on individuals and groups was through the majlis system. In fact it is argued that to some extent this may still be the case and is an area that creates conflict, again an issue dealt with elsewhere.

I should add that I am not aware of all the consultancy work that was carried out in Qatar, and that there are likely to be errors of omission and commission on this subject. Please do not take these notes as being authoritative.

As the country began to develop after the Second World War, the natural resources of Qatar – chiefly oil and gas as there are no adequate alternative resources – were seen to be steadily depleting as they were converted into revenue to the State. That revenue was perceived to be of two sorts: those which produced funds that were converted into infrastructural development of one sort or another, and those that were transformed into revenue generating assets designed to provide income in compensation for the steadily depleting resources. Because of the complete dependency of the State’s economy on oil and gas it was considered necessary to extend them in terms of value and time as far as possible into the future. This was a common theme in countries rich in these resources and concerned about what they perceived to be threats from the West, leading to the establishing of OPEC in 1960, with Qatar joining in 1961.

This the State endeavoured to do by reducing the amount of finance abstracted for economic diversification, and by optimising the sources of energy for the development of its industries. However, in the nineteen eighties they found themselves to some extent at the mercy of external forces that they were unable to control. Additionally, having an expensively operating infrastructure to maintain, the State then found itself expending an increasing amount of its income without being able to reinforce its income generating capabilities.

Qatar’s success in developing itself at that time was commonly seen as being implicitly dependent upon its industrialising on the basis of oil and gas. This policy saw the gradual conversion from the exporting of crude oil and liquefied natural gas to the downstream activities of petrochemicals, fertilizers and energy consuming industrial processes. However, the ability of the State to respond to controlling its future was limited to a large extent by other States, particularly those in the Gulf with similar problems. This concern for unavoidable competition, encouraged the consideration of extensive co-operation between the States. To this end a number of political initiatives were embarked upon while realising that the character of the problem would require long term international co-operative development.

The Industrial Development Technical Centre was established to advise government on strategies for developing industry in the State, despite there being no comprehensive development plan. Housing, education, health and other social welfare policies were actively pursued and it was felt that the process of industrialisation was successful, if prudent.

While the government of Qatar generally saw itself as responsible for the direction of the economy as well as for the character, location and pace of development, the strategies for development are notionally decided at the highest levels of government, in theory through the Council of Ministers, established in 1972, and then directed to the relevant government departments.

But there were difficulties in the operation of this system. Control of the State has developed naturally as an extension of the responsibilities of leadership of a small community to the State which exists today. Government staff will suggest that this appears to inhibit them from taking necessary decisions at lower levels of government, with a consequent effect upon efficiency and its smooth running. In this it can be seen that there is conflict between the method of organisation of a modern State and the traditional administrative and management mechanisms practised by the Qataris. This conflict is not irresolvable, but the changes needed when moving from a small introverted society to a larger one in which the expatriates greatly outnumber the nationals and which is notionally if not actually based on modern international lines, was bound to introduce difficulties both in terms of responses at international levels but, more particularly, within the developing society and its evolving administrative organisations.

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The first steps in planning within Qatar

Planning, as a Western concept relating to national or strategic physical planning, began in Qatar at the beginning of the nineteen seventies. Following discussions between the British Embassy and representatives of the State, the planning company of Llewelyn-Davies, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor was invited to send a team to begin the process of developing a plan for the State. The plan was intended to be strategic and produce goals, objectives and standards that would enable the State to move forward within a sensible and sensitive framework for decision making.

Prior to this time, the planning of physical development was effectively controlled through the traditional majlis system, though the institution of Western-style ministries was beginning. Ostensibly, planning for the country was the province of the Ministry of Finance and Petroleum Affairs, as they were in charge of the increasing revenues from the winning of oil and gas. Excluding the Office of H.H. The Amir and the military, the other agencies with an interest in planning were:

• Ministry of Public Works – roads, sewerage, drainage, public buildings and infrastructure development,
• Ministry of Electricity and Water – manufacture and delivery of water and electricity,
• Ministry of Transport and Communications – telephone systems,
• Ministry of Justice – land registration,
• Ministry of the Interior – road design and signalling, and the
• Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs – public housing,
• Ministry of Municipal Affairs – planning, building regulations, soft and some hard landscaping, and some public buildings and works.

Industrial development, particularly on a large scale, was directed by the Industrial Development and Technical Centre – the IDTC – which nominally came under the aegis of the Amir’s Office. The Ministry of Agriculture and Industry was also involved in the direction of industrial development, and the Chamber of Commerce maintained an interest in this area as well as in commercial areas of development.

Effectively, there had been physical planning of a sort, but it was directed and carried out from the Ministry of Public Works, its planning being based upon rationalising a road structure – together with drainage and sewerage – that would facilitate the development of the country along the perceived needs of the nineteen-sixties. The Ministry of Electricity and Water were planning in a similar way, with a degree of coordination between them and the Ministry of Public Works, but one that was difficult to integrate fully due to the lack of an overall plan as well as the different strategies employed by the different ministries. But the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, who were responsible for building regulations, wished to enlarge the scope of their interests to encompass planning throughout the country, and this they did with the introduction of the Llewelyn-Davies consultancy.

Before moving on it might be useful to mention how planning was or is perceived, and how this affected the way in which planning developed in the peninsula.

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What is meant by planning

Planning is focussed on the structures and processes crucial to providing or preparing for the future. What most people see, or are aware of, tend to be the visual aspects of planning. A common misconception of planning is that its purpose is to produce a static plan, a two- or three-dimensional framework governing the disposition of buildings and their uses together with the communication systems linking them. Perhaps this results from the time when Town Planning appeared to be focussed only on the physical aspects of urban development. An example of this might be characterised by the illustration here, for this is a common way in which the attributes of a development might best be illustrated to a client. Such a presentation is usually buttressed by additional descriptive drawings, generally perspectives taken from ground level together with aerial perspectives. A model is also a very common requirement, both by the client as well as by professionals. This is particularly true of urban design and architectural studies where the form and character of buildings may be readily appreciated. The fact is that diagrams, drawings and models are an easily understood demonstration of the results of a planning process, but they are not the process and are likely to be constructed in the presented form.

Planning is a continuous process; it can not stand still as there is a continuous interaction between process and its effects. Essentially, planning is the allocation of resources, a process that is seen by many commentators as being driven by political imperative. They argue that it is only politicians who are able to bring together the legislation, organisation and directives necessary to implement planning goals and objectives. It is further argued that only they can articulate what those goals and objectives should be. Moreover, politicians tend to be those who have, or believe they have, vision. In this sense, planning should be understood as a political process, albeit a process ostensibly founded on parameters considered to benefit everybody and improve the different circumstances under which they live.

As described earlier, prior to the first planning team’s arrival in Qatar, planning was seen essentially as a practical process aimed mainly at the distribution of electricity, water and sewerage systems around Doha and the smaller towns within the peninsula, based on a hierarchical road system. Funding was through the Ministry of Finance and was geared to the controls of funds from the increasing sale of Qatar’s resources of oil and gas, and their disbursement within and outside the State. At this time the State was beginning to assemble and staff ministries reflecting, in the main, those in the West, and it was here that the beginnings of change from the traditional systems of control and administration were experienced.

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The first plan

The first planning team was comprised of professionals covering a number of different specialities, and included strategic and urban planners, economists, socio-anthropologists, traffic engineers, landscape architects and urban designers, the intent being to make a comprehensive study of the country and its people, identify the different pressures that existed and might be foreseen, and make recommendations for the establishing of organisations capable of dealing with those pressures as well as creating an urban plan for Doha, the city showing significant signs of stress attributable to the new levels of wealth pouring into the country.

The government decided that this planning team would most sensibly or usefully be contracted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Day-to-day activities were monitored by the Doha Municipality who had yet to obtain their own planning staff, though they did have a small cadre of expatriate building inspectors carrying out rudimentary checks on new buildings. There was a standing issue in this regard between the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and that Ministry of Public Works, the provider of public houses and some government buildings.

Over their first year in Qatar the team carried out a significant range of studies in order to create a suitable basis for planning in the peninsula. One of the most important areas they worked on was a socio-anthropological study in order to obtain a better understanding of how the people of the peninsula lived and the manner in which the society operated and decisions made. The benefit this gave to the team was crucial to the production of a plan that would be workable.

Another significant study was the Traffic and Transportation Master Plan carried out by Peat Marwick Mitchell and Company, establishing a series of standards and a traffic structure that was intended to see Qatar to the end of the century. This work has been supplanted by later studies in order to deal with the greatly increased traffic now using Doha’s road system.

Other studies were carried out with regard to building fabric, transportation, economic and financial structures and the like. Another crucial element was the census that had been carried out in 1971, the year before the planning team began their work and which was made available to the team, a resource that was not available in later years. This immediately pointed up one of the characteristics of the Gulf states: that national populations were a minority in their own countries. The result of the studies was a range of papers together with a structure plan for Qatar and a similar plan for Doha together with local action plans for the areas where immediate change should be focussed.

The sketches above are illustrative plans for the centre of Doha, produced in 1973 and showing how development might be accomplished in five year increments between 1977 and 1992. While such sketches are not intended to be taken literally, it is obvious from them that the pace of development envisaged was nothing like that which quickly arrived.

The activities of the team, particularly in their need to work with the different government agencies, introduced the practicalities if not the concept of planning to those agencies. In certain respects this was similar to mentoring. It was evident that the concept of planning was not fully accepted by all and this problem was exacerbated as infrastructure development and demolition continued regardless of the plans being formulated as there was considerable pressure being placed on government by individuals and groups through the majlis system, as well as a degree of competition between the ministries to show benefit to the public.

During the early seventies the team continued their work, recommending changes in government structure and management, identifying action areas, developing phased plans for those areas, while attempting to maintain touch with the changing political framework and the rapidly increasing funds becoming available from the sale of oil.

The scale and pace of development increased and, with it, criticism and concern within government relating to poorly executed works and the availability of land for development. This latter issue was a reflection of the historical claims different tribes had on areas within the peninsula. Its main effect was to inhibit the government from developing where, and at the pace, it wished.

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The New District of Doha

By the mid-seventies the State was developing its infrastructure, but a number of problems, alluded to above, were becoming increasingly apparent. Doha was seeing development on its periphery, and the central area had been demolished in such a way as to make contiguous development difficult. This sketch shows urban Doha in the summer of 1975, a drawing that also shows the extent of the reclamation at that time being carried out between two bunds extended from the existing shore.

The Office of H.H. The Amir considered a number of approaches to identify a way in which some of the perceived problems might be approached. The most attractive were those associated with resolving a number of issues. At that time the west bay of Doha was very shallow and was not cleansed by the water currents running down from the north. In this photograph, taken in the late 1940s, the three small reefs standing off the centre of Doha can be seen to the right and, on the left, the shallows associated with the coast to the east of al Markhiya and coming right down to Doha in the areas of Rumaillah and al Bida, the original centre of what is now Doha.

Land ownership was an issue in the peninsula generally due to tribal claims, but more so in and around major centres where land had an increasing commercial value. In the centre of Doha a small number of trading families such as Darwish and al Mana had frontage onto the sea where they were able to land and store cargoes.

I believe that legal ownership of littoral land extended for a hundred yards into the sea, which accounted for the location of the Corniche. Construction of the Corniche was effected with quarried stone as a lineal development, the area between the Corniche and the existing land being filled as a secondary activity in order to permit that land being developed. Initially much of this land belonged to private land owners, but the government negotiated with them in order to bring this land into State ownership. Something of the character can be seen on the page looking at the history of Qatar.

In the centre of Doha, immediately east of wadi Sail, government constructed separate meat, fish and vegetable markets and, further east, the Ministry of Education and the Courts building and then the Post Office, all on existing land or land filled adjacent to the wadi where, previously, boats were traditionally drawn up. The new land formed by the construction of the Corniche first had Government House and a number of government buildings including the Qatar National Bank built on it, culminating with an extension to Government House by Kenzo Tange, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly opposite the Office of H.H. The Amir on land once owned by the Darwish family.

The decision was made to dredge the bay and, with the dredged material, reclaim a new area from the sea. Bos Kalis Westminster was awarded the contract and began the process of reclaiming a part of the bay. On this new area, of which at least 600 hectares of reclaimed land was obviously in government ownership, the State now had 2,000 hectares on which to build a number of facilities. But not only this; the State would also be able to develop standards relating to construction that were better than present practice.

The American architectural and planning consultancy of William L. Pereira Associates was introduced on 1975 to assist in this process. By the end of that year they had produced the first in a series of planning studies known as the Concept Plan, and which would provide the outline for development of this area. The elements that were to be located in this area, now known as the New District of Doha – but by some as the West Bay or the Dafnah with its unfortunate connotations in Arabic – were:

• Qatar University,
• a regional park,
• Senior staff housing,
• Intermediate staff housing,
• a 500 bed hotel and conference centre,
• a diplomatic area,
• a ministries area,
• a district centre, and a
• central business district.

In addition to the planning of the New District of Doha, WLPA were also given the responsibility for planning the industrial town of Umm Said, that is all elements of it other than the industrial facilities themselves, this area coming under the jurisdiction of the Industrial Development and Technical Centre, itself coming under the aegis of the Office of H.H. The Amir.

The Office of H.H. The Amir would control all these projects, acting as client’s representative, planner and project manager of all the schemes through the medium of employing and supervising consultants to act on their behalf. But, as mentioned earlier, the opportunity would also be taken to establish high standards for development which would then be imposed on the departments in their work elsewhere in the State.

Llewelyn-Davies continued it work in the 1970s, but were being overtaken by events. The Municipality continued to bring in private consultancies to advise them, first Shankland Cox and then Dar al Handasah producing for them in 1981 and 1985 respectively, recommendations for the redevelopment of Doha.

In addition to the work noted above, the Office of H.H. The Amir was also responsible for reviewing and advising on major projects that were proposed by development ministries, particularly the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Public Works, thus preventing or reducing overlapping interests while ensuring projects of quality were sought and promoted. The New District of Doha was seen as an opportunity to establish high standards of design and construction within the State.

First projects

This saw, for instance, the design and construction of the iconic Hotel and Conference Centre on the tip of the New District of Doha. C.Y. Lee of WLPA was the architect for the project which was carried out by the Ministry of Public Works using a series of packaged contracts. This first photograph shows the drama of the bare structure after the separate piling and steel frame contracts had been let and completed, and awaiting the next stage of concrete cladding and completion. This was the first building on the NDOD and one of the first in the country to be constructed using novel methods and to high standards. The university was constructed under the same rationale, both considered exemplars for future development.

In this aerial photograph, looking more or less south-west, the Hotel and Conference Centre is in the foreground with, on the right and behind it, Salam Plaza, the first commercial development in the NDOD. This was a brave decision at the time but was not a commercial success, there being too little to induce people to shop there at that time, despite Salam having a long tradition in Doha and a good reputation with its existing stores. Both Salam Plaza and the Hotel and Conference Centre were opened in 1982.

Behind the Hotel and Conference Centre in the photograph above and, on the left, is the Intermediate Staff 216 unit housing project, created for expatriate government staff. Designed by Georges Candilis along the lines of similar work of his elsewhere, this project created a resource for government, allowing it to locate staff readily without having to deal with the private sector and the increasing rental costs it provided.

In the photograph above, and the upper of these two photographs, you see the Intermediate staff housing on the left with Salam Plaza visible between the two truncated pyramids of the Hotel and Conference Centre, and the Qatar Petroleum Headquarters tower, by Triad Cico, on the right. The latter company were also responsible for the National Theatre, developed at the entrance to the NDOD between the Corniche and ‘A’ ring road adjacent to Muhammad bin Thani street, running west past the Rumeillah fort. These two photographs illustrate more accurately the character of the NDOD in the early nineteen eighties with the new fill material a prominent feature and few roads. The lower photograph shows the prominence of the Hotel and Conference Centre with, to the left, I believe, the beginning of construction of the General Post Office. Note the beginnings of tree planting along the Corniche to the right.

This photograph of the Hotel and Conference Centre again shows its prominence, this time 2.8 kilometres across the West Bay from the east side of the fishing jetty immediately to the north of Doha’s central suq. Taken again in the early nineteen eighties, the foreground shows not just the character of the jetty, but also that the Corniche littoral paving and planting had not yet been carried out. The Hotel and Conference Centre were always seen to be an important grouping in the urban planning of Doha.

Another of the developments initially seeding the area was the Central Post Office, designed by Comconsult. Constructed at the entrance to the NDOD, it was an important location for a building that is visited every day by the public, there being no delivery system to housing. It is a large structure, incorporating multi-storey car parking, with its location selected deliberately as part of the central focus of the Corniche set aside for civic and cultural developments, and adjoined the central plaza.

At the same time a start was made on the Qatar university. Designed by the late Dr Kamal el-Kafrawi in conjunction with Ove Arup and Partners, it holds the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Considerable effort went into establishing a factory for the prefabricated units forming the buildings with quality control achieving standards not seen before in the peninsula. While there is criticism of the non-functioning wind towers and lack of flexibility it remains, nevertheless, an extraordinary project.

Planning in Doha continued based on development of the Llewelyn-Davies and Shankland Cox plans, but increasingly on the WLPA planning which had set out the structure for Doha as well as for the NDOD. The Corniche was an important element of the plan with the early nineteen-eighties witnessing its construction. In this contemporary photograph the scale of the median cross section can be seen together with the first pre-cast concrete elements on the littoral side. The white building in the distance is the Ministry of the Interior, constructed at al-Bida, the original urban development at this part of the coast.

Further east along the Corniche, nearer the centre of Doha and approaching the Diwan al Amiri roundabout from the west, this photograph, again taken in the early nineteen-eighties, shows on the right the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, on the left, the glazed façade and white capping of Qatar National Bank with Government House behind on the edge of the photograph.

These were important developments in the planning of Doha. The Corniche was seen as the open face of Doha, the front it presented to the world. The buildings associated with it were understood to be important in this urban scene. One of the most important urban elements was the Diwan al Amiri grouping, that is the old Diwan al Amiri, the clock tower and the mosque. This photograph taken from the Diwan al Amiri roundabout on the Corniche, shows the beginnings of establishing a setting for this grouping, one that was to be developed further with the construction of the new Diwan al Amiri to the west of the existing building. The photograph shows not only the relatively dramatic setting of the old Diwan al Amiri as well as the kerbing units, known as vehicle barriers and designed to prevent vehicles moving across them.

A number of other consultants were producing studies and projects for Doha as well as for the New District of Doha. Trevor Crocker and Partners made a study for the lagoon and regional park in the north of the NDOD, east of the new University, L.G. Mouchel and Partners were involved in a number of technical projects. White Young and Partners were responsible for a considerable amount of engineering projects with Westbury and Northcrofts, and Langdon and Every – both firms of Quantity Surveyors – controlling projects not only in the public sector, but also the private sector.

The framework for all this development was established within WLPA’s strategic plan for the NDOD. But this plan was not just confined to the NDOD, it established the NDOD as an integral element of Doha, reorganising the existing road system – then locked onto the sea by a series of ring roads, ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ – and opened it out to form a parallel road system. The upper sketch shows how the road system had developed up to 1972, the Corniche turning away from the sea and moving up the hill towards al-Markhiya, and then to the north road.

In the lower sketch, the outline of the reclaimed area is shown as the New District of Doha, with the extended road system taken into it. A notional littoral road is shown, mirroring an old road or track that existed many years previously, moving up to al-Khor. The system also connects to the west with Rayyan, itself connecting to al-Shahanniya and Dukhaan its west.

It had already been established that the West Bay would be a geometrically precise shape, its northern point established by the increasingly deep water there. The WLPA plan created a rationale for the planning of the NDOD that resolved a number of strategic and political objectives. The littoral road became the Corniche, running along the northern face of Doha from feriq al Hitmi in the east to the Hotel and Conference Centre in the north-west, interrupted only by the Port development. This gave Doha a marine-oriented focus very much in keeping with its traditions and, at the same time, a recreational facility that might be enjoyed by all as well as structure for ceremonial procession.

The 1975 plan for the NDOD was intended to be a sensible response to a variety of problems faced by government, and was anticipated to cater for Doha’s planned development at least until the end of the century, bearing in mind that development would be happening elsewhere, not just in Doha but in other areas of the peninsula. This sketch illustrates the manner in which the area would be theoretically developed. The University can be seen integrated into the structure of the city while the plan allows for expansion not just to the west and Madinat Khalifa, but also potentially to the north.

The political parameters within which the planning of the New District of Doha were directed have been mentioned previously, but it might be useful to set out here something of the planning parameters on which the concept was based.

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Coordination

One of the problems of inconsistent development, both physical as well as institutional, was the lack of coordination between those engaged in construction of the physical environment. This also had its effects in other areas, but that will have to be discussed elsewhere.

The development of the NDOD was intended to be a model, not only in terms of its planning, but also in the selection and design of the different elements that were constructed within it. But more than this, it presented an opportunity to improve the capabilities of the construction industry in both the private and public sectors.

The construction industry was in nascent form with companies’ capabilities dramatically uneven. One of the reasons for this was that while the market had been slowly developing, expertise and controls had not been keeping pace with the increasing rate of development. In addition, the registration of companies was effected with their being given the title of ‘general merchant and contractor’, a term that enabled any merchant to construct a building legally. While this was seen to be a method of helping nationals to develop the country while improving themselves, there were soon apparent a number of difficulties. The Ministry of Public Works was able to constrain some of the more obvious problems that might arise by restricting to six the number of houses a contractor was permitted to carry out as a single contract. However, with time an effort was made to prequalify contractors according to their proven ability, though this mechanism proved difficult to enforce. The problem of matching contracts to contractors, the manner in which owners brought in their professional workforce, and issues relating to permissions and supervision continued to produce construction of poor quality.

more to be written…

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Planning parameters

The New District of Doha was intended to take a number of land uses that would see a relatively low development density of between 25 and 35 persons per hectare. The area was considered to be suited to take a median population of around 40,000, this increasing to 60,000 by the turn of the century by linking the structure through to Madinat Khalifa in the West. However, it was understood that the density would depend upon decisions relating to housing type mix and increasingly low density national housing standards.

Circulation structure

The circulation structure that formed the linear grid on which development would be located, was established as approximately a one kilometre square, an optimal function of the population and the traffic it would generate. Those living within each neighbourhood would have optimal walking distance both to local amenities, as well as to the main roads where the public transport system would run. This circulation structure would support a dual-three road system incorporating landscaping with roundabouts at the junctions of these primary distributors.

Roads aligned parallel with the Corniche were seen as inter-urban connectors; those at right angles to the Corniche as lateral connectors. It was anticipated that the inter-urban connectors would take a heavier load than the lateral connectors. The main inter-urban road, which was seen to take the major traffic loading was, at that time, the ‘A’ ring road. It and the Corniche would line the back and front of the ministries and business districts that fronted onto the Corniche. There would be no access to these districts directly from the Corniche, although the possibility of ceremonial access was recognised.

The Corniche

The Corniche, which includes both the road system, landscaping and pedestrian pavements, was perceived as a major design element for Doha. From the Qatar National Museum, situated on Doha’s East bay, the Corniche stretches almost seven kilometres to the Hotel and Conference Centre. Although the port breaks the continuous relationship with the sea, the opportunity was taken to ensure that the Corniche should develop as a linear park, providing both a recreational resource as well as a ceremonial route. Strongly planted with some associated parking, it was intended to provide a broad walkway immediately adjacent to the sea, with no railings to interfere with view from passing vehicles. Its northern ending in the New District of Doha was specifically marked with an iconic architectural building, the Hotel and Conference Centre.

A major element of the Corniche, in fact of Doha as a whole, was the identification of a site for tower. This was to be located at the end of the main jetty which at the northern end of Grand Hamad. This strong urban design feature was to form a focus for anybody moving north along Grand Hamad, and would also be a strong vertical feature marking Doha’s suq for those moving around the Corniche, both from the east as well as the west.

Neighbourhood units

Within each of the road grids it was anticipated that there would be neighbourhood units of between 4,000 and 5,000 people. This population would be housed in approximately 1,000 housing units that would include around 250 multi-family units in order to maintain a mixed population. At that time, 1,000 housing units per annum was the shortfall in housing provision.

However, it was not envisaged that each of the neighbourhood units would be populated at the same densities. Senior Staff housing areas, for instance, would have a lower density and would be located further away from the Corniche, the higher densities being located closer to the Corniche and the main distributors.

Education within the NDOD

The levels of population within a neighbourhood unit would theoretically support one girls’ and one boys’ primary school. Two such units would support one girls’ and one boys’ preparatory school, and four of the units would support one girls’ and one boys’ secondary school.

Activity centres

The planning of centres followed established hierarchical principles, but with a difference in that they were viewed as being located on a lineal system in a similar way to traditional Arab aswaaq. The activity centres were seen as being mixed use and would contain a range of commercial, retail, educational, municipal and other uses that would provide appropriate facilities to those living within a short distance of them. Most importantly, the ability to move around on foot at grade was considered imperative.

Integration of the different communities was also considered to be an important issue in deciding upon the manner in which residential units would relate to communal activities. Short walking distances were anticipated to contribute to this, but there was also a requirement to mix uses, incorporating small uses with major ones in order to ensure that areas were not left dead at night and that the communities would have opportunities to mingle.

The centres would move through the neighbourhood units allowing some city-wide and community facilities to be located adjacent to primary roads, but locating other community facilities and neighbourhood facilities away from those roads. The scale and hierarchy of those centres would reflect the density of associated housing, providing at the smaller levels not just local shopping, but also crafts and repair shops, small scale research and development, and local scale civic and government offices.

It was intended that two of the centres would develop as major district centres with the capability of attracting custom from the whole of the Doha conurbation though obviously more related to local residents and workers. The first of those to be developed would be the centre located adjacent to the Hotel and Conference Centre, the other adjacent to the University. To the side is an illustrative sketch plan showing how the centre might be structured, the pink areas representing the open pedestrianised elements of the centre.

Policies on height

It was not anticipated that buildings would be of the significant height they now reach. Ten to twelve storeys was thought to be sufficient to cater for the needs of the business and State requirements at that time. The Qatar Petroleum building and Salam Plaza, shown above illustrate the bulk of such development. For a number of reasons, development was seen as being carried out on discrete sites, rather than being designed and constructed in a more integrated form. This had much to do with nervousness in the market and the lack of belief in the future of the NDOD, it being easier to encourage single site users, either public or private.

The oblique aerial perspective above is also of the district centre associated with the Hotel and Conference Centre and gives some indication of its scale and anticipated character. With such an important resource as the West Bay, it was considered imperative that there would be a degree of protection of the views to be enjoyed from the NDOD into the Bay. This would be effected by ensuring tall buildings did not block views to the east and south – tall buildings would not be located in front of smaller ones – and that by locating buildings on an orthagonal north-south oriented grid, views between them would also be possible.

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Municipality planning

Following the Second World War, building development steadily increased in pace, particularly in the capital, Doha. In response to this the government, in 1963, introduced the Municipality of Doha, giving it four responsibilities:

• building process,
• gardens,
• public health, and
• accounts.

This new agency introduced the first requirements for the construction of buildings, a site location plan, but with no process for its enforcement. This municipal administration was the only form of local authority until 1971 when, with independence, a ministry structure was introduced, one of which being the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

The situation in which the ministries found themselves was novel and a dramatic change from the traditional way of managing affairs. Consultants were brought in, the Ministry of Public Works introducing Llewelyn-Davies, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor to review and recommend how the peninsula might be planned and managed. Their work included:

• a structure plan for the whole of the peninsula,
• reports on population and its alternative projections,
• recommendations on land allocation, building heights, transportation and services networks,
• town planning designs for Doha,
• detailed designs for residential areas,
• detailed designs for the planning of the central area of Doha, and
• building laws and regulations for the control of planning and building construction.

The consultants continued to work on developing the structure plan but, by 1978 it was evident that the pace of development was outstripping the facility of government to control it. The following year the Ministry established its Town Planning section for the Municipality of Doha, Ll-D having had its contracts moved to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in 1974 in order to recognise and make more apparent the distinction between planning and construction.

Meanwhile, Llewelyn-Davies continued to work on the centre of Doha, their remit changing with time to more detailed work on the identification and design of Action Areas and, particularly the design of Grand Hamad, the road driven north-south through the middle of the centre of Doha. Ll-D were also awarded the design and construction of the major hospital that replaced the old Rumaillah Hospital.

By 1978 it was evident that the pace of development was outstripping the facility of government to control it. The following year the Ministry established its Town Planning section for the Municipality of Doha, Ll-D having had its contracts moved to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in 1974 in order to recognise and make more apparent the distinction between planning and construction.

Shankland Cox Partnership were introduced in 1979, their remit beginning with the:

• examination of existing planning data and policies, recommending additional data requirements and areas where existing resources could be improved; advising on the design of a planning land bank or storage system and the implementation of such a system,
• updating or revising to appropriate scales the existing development plans for Doha and the major villages,
• producing Action Area plans and detailed physical development guidelines where appropriate,
• reviewing and advising on existing physical planning and development control procedures, and
• reviewing the existing Ministry staff structure and assisting in training existing and new staff.

This work was followed up by specific studies and recommendations for:

• an outline for the Qatar Area Referencing System – QARS,
• a planning database,
• the Doha Interim Structure Plan, 2000,
• the Doha and New South District Interim Development Plan, 1990,
• Doha City Centre Interim Development Plan,
• Action area plans for
  • the new Suq,
  • Grand Hamad road,
  • Jasra road,
  • Asmak street, and
  • feriq al-Salata, and
• a legal framework for implementation,

this latter advice being professional advice on establishing a set of improved building codes for the State, to be enacted and enforced as a continuation of the work of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

By this time the Planning Section of the Ministry was essentially structured to look only at development within Doha, its original structure being associated with:

• development control,
• land control and sub-division,
• urban design, and
• utility coordination and liaison.

Land control and sub-division also dealt with the increasing problems relating to land adjustment. The initiative to develop land had encouraged many to have their land appropriated and compensated. The situation with regard to boundaries was complicated by the increasing value of land and its reflection in the number of land agents and their operation.

During this period, from the late-1970s to the late-1980s, government settled into a period of consolidation, attempting to bring its institutions up to speed while keeping pace with the rate of development. This required increased cooperation between ministries and their staff, but also the continuing use of consultancies. Bear in mind that individuals and agencies were introducing consultants to the country to work on a variety of projects in the public and private sectors, the former including projects for oil and gas, security and the military.

It is notable that, during this period, the rapid pace of development slowed as a reflection of revenues from oil and gas which slide during the 1980s. In government, the opportunity was taken to continue to innovate, one particularly useful initiative being the introduction of a Geographical Information System to enable improved accuracy and with it, better information and coordination.

This period also saw the Doha Planning Section established its Urban Design and Land Use Standards and Regulations. Generally these followed the recommendations that had been accepted and adopted for development in the New District of Doha.

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Municipality planning standards

The Municipality established a series of standards that it now sought to implement not only in Doha but by extension, in the rest of the peninsula. Here they are in order to illustrate the thinking at that time. Bear in mind that this work was completed after the introduction of novel requirements in the New District of Doha.

Housing

Plot sizes are to be 30m x 30m when sub-dividing vacant land, this also being the standard for Senior Staff housing.

Plot coverage is to be a maximum of 60%.

A Floor Area Ratio – F.A.R. – of 1:2 is permitted.

Car parking of 1 space per dwelling unit is a required.

A maximum height of 11 metres is permitted within which a basement, ground floor, first floor and penthouse have to be accommodated.

House structures are classified as:

• Main structure – the principal building intended to be the residential quarters of a plot, and
• Secondary structures – ancillary buildings on the same plot which may be separate from the main housing structure. Secondary structures include servants’ quarters, separate majlis, garaging and storage facilities.

The following housing types are possible within the density ranges permitted in residential areas:

• Villa – an individual housing unit,
• Patio or courtyard house – an individual housing unit organised around a central open space,
• Row house – individual housing unit on its own lot which abuts its side lot lines and joins row housing units side-by-side or in more than one storey, on a single site,
• Duplex – an individual housing structure with two housing units side-by-side or in more than one storey, on a single site,
• Townhouse complex – a housing structure with three or more dwelling units side-by-side, on a single site, and
• Block of flats – a multi-family walk-up or elevator-serviced housing structure.

Gross residential density is the total number of dwelling units that may be built within a sub-division, divided by the total area in hectares, including all local, access, and the loop roads, culs-de-sac, pedestrian paths and local community facilities.

Residential zones are classified by gross density under the following categories:

• Very low density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted to 5.25 dwellings per hectare. This density level provides for lots of up to 1,200 sq.m., allowing for the construction of spacious single-family detached housing or either the villa or patio or courtyard house design configuration.
• Low density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted to 6.75 dwellings per hectare for the construction of single-family housing on moderately sized lots. Possible housing types include detached villas, patio or courtyard houses or row houses.
• Medium density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted at 10 dwelling units per hectare. Many housing types are possible at this density, including detached single family units on smaller lots, single family cluster housing, townhouses and duplexes.
• Medium high density – an area with an average gross residential density targeted to 20 dwelling units per hectare. The housing types in this density category include attached units such as townhouses and duplexes, as well as low-rise blocks of flats.
• High density – an area reserved for the construction of walk-up or elevator-served blocks of flats with an average gross residential density of 30 units per hectare.

Lot sizes for the above densities are:

Housing type	Minimum lot – sq.m.	Maximum lot – sq.m.
Villa	350	1,200
Patio or courtyard house	160	250
Row house	160	250
Duplex	200 per unit	600 per unit
Townhouse	120 per unit	200 per unit
Block of flats	720	180 per flat

Sub-division design – a residential sub-division is a planned division of land into lots and public rights-of-way to provide sites for future individual buildings. A sub-division plan may consist solely of residential lots and public rights-of-way. It may also contain lots set aside for community facilities, including those specified by the government. Design criteria concerning proposed sub-divisions are listed as follows:

• Sub-division design shall conform to the land use designations, development densities and housing types specified in the Land Use Plan and in the site specific Planning and Urban Design Regulations for the area.
• In residential areas where a sub-division plan has been established by the government, all roadways and building lot boundaries shall be treated as fixed conditions.
• In cases where a sub-division plan has not been established by the government, the distribution and utilisation of land may be determined by the developer, subject to the following conditions:
• Land shall not be sub-divided for development in areas where soil, subsoil or flooding conditions create dangers to health and safety, unless proper provision is made to correct these conditions. The layout of the area shall be compatible with natural and developed features of the area and surrounding regions.
• The area shall be organised to provide both an efficient layout of infrastructure systems and a pleasant and sociable living environment.
• Orientation of streets, lots and buildings should be generally parallel or perpendicular to true north in order to minimise the impact of solar exposure on buildings. Orientation along a north-west - south-east axis should be avoided in order to minimise exposure to severe winds from the north-west.
• Service facilities and higher density housing should be located so as to facilitate access and minimise traffic to them through lower density housing areas.
• Consideration should be given to grouping lots to create small local areas in which residents may share common facilities. Mixing housing types and lot sizes within the sub-division is encouraged so that the resulting neighbourhood will be more heterogeneous.
• Leftover or unassigned land areas are to be avoided. All land within the residential area shall be developed or treated.
• Set-backs – the front, rear and side walls of each house type shall have the following minimum set-backs from the boundary of the plot:

Setbacks from the…	With windows	Without windows
Front	5.5 metres
Rear	3.0 metres	1.5 metres
Left side	3.0 metres	1.5 metres
Right side	3.0 metres	1.5 metres

Non-residential uses

Non-residential uses permitted in residential zones include:

• Local commercial – an area for commercial services or convenience retail sals of limited scale such as cafés, restuarants, news stands, tobacconists, drug stores, flower shops or small grocery stores generally provided for the everyday use of residents living in the immediate area.
• Local mosque – a site designated for a small daily mosque serving the residents of the immediate area.
• Outdoor majlis – a small pocket park providing a social gathering area for adults residing in the immediate vicinity.
• Children’s playlot – a small pocket park or ‘tot lot’ allowing young children a safe public play area.
• Social centre – an area for a social centre of club facilities.
• Recreation centre – an area for recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, sports courts, playing fields and a club house.
• Public park – a site designated for a public park or garden for passive recreation.

Road network and hierarchy

All roads and streets shall meet the design standards set forth by the Ministry of Public Works Civil Engineering Department – Roads Section and Design Review Committee will be required. Road types can be defined as follows:

• Regional, primary, secondary and local roads are normally situated outside or on the perimeter of any residential area.
• Access roads, loop roads and culs-de-sac provide vehicular access within the residential area. In residential areas where the road network and land sub-division plan have been established by the government, all roadways and building lot boundaries shall be treated as fixed conditions. Where roadways and building lots have not been established by the government, internal streets may be designed by the developer, subject to Engineering and Planning Controls. Where internal vehicular circulation is designed by the developer, the following apply:
  • all habitable buildings shall be provided direct vehicular access.
  • The circulation system should follow the established road system hierarchy with traffic descending from primary or secondary roads to local roads, thence to access roads, loop roads and culs-de-sac, and finally to individual lots.
  • Streets should be sized according to intended traffic load with culs-de-sac carrhing the least traffic and loop roads, access roads and local roads carrying increased traffic loads respectively. Local roads shold provide the link to high volume primary or secondary roads.
  • Internal streets should be designed to discourage through traffic. This can be accomplished by use of loop streets, culs-de-sac and T-intersections. Four-way intersections are not allowed.
  • Where appropriate, internal streets in a residential area should connect with streets in adjacent areas. If connected, the road reservation of both streets should be equal. Where street systems of adjoining residential areas have not been constructed, it is the responsibility of the developer to identify the location and status of adjoining streets to ensure maximum coordination.
  • In general, streets should intersect as nearly as possible at right angles both for reasons of safety and to avoid difficult lot design problems. Intersections of more than four streets are not allowed.
  • Internal street systems shall be designed to accommodate not only vehicular circulation but also pedestrian circulation and utility systems. Roadway reservations shall include space for sidewalks and utility lines as determined by the relevant government authority.
  • Grades on internal streets shall be not greater than 8% nor less than 0.5%.
  • Tangents between reverse curves of an ‘S’ curve on local or access roads shall be a minimum of 50 and 25 metres respectively. The minimum radius of all internal roadway curves is 50 metres.
  • Corners at intersections must be rounded to permit safe turns.
  • Visibility as intersections must be provided by means of a clear zone within which no wall or object taller than 0.4 metres is permitted.
  • Streets shall be designed according to the topography of the area to minimise grading and facilitate surface drainage.
  • Stop signs shall be provided at the intersections of local roads and access roads.
  • Vehicular access to individual building lots is permitted only from local roads, access roads and culs-de-sac. No direct access is allowed from primary or secondary roads. Parking requirements in residential areas are as follows:
    • Parking in residential areas is to be located principally on building sites or in off-street parking areas.
    • Street parking is discouraged. When street parking is permitted by the Site Specific Regulations, it is to be designed as lay-bys differentiated from the traffic roadway by construction materials and lane striping. Lay-bys or street parking are not permitted within the clear zones required at intersections.
    • Off-street visitors’ parking shall be provided within convenient walking distance of the units to be served in parking bays off the traffic lanes of residential streets.
  
  

  On-site parking

  • On-site parking shall be provided for each housing type according to the minimum standards given below:
    • Minimum car parking requirements:
      • Villas – 1 per dwelling plus 1 per additional 200 sq.metres.
      • Flats – 1 per dwelling up to 16 flats plus 1 per additional 4 flats.
      • On-site parking shall be provided for each non-residential building type as follows:
        • Commercial – 1 space for each 25 square metres of net usable floor area.
        • Educational – 1 space per classroom plus 10 spaces.
        • Religious – 1 space for each 10 square metres of total prayer area.
        • Recreational – per programme requirements.
  
  

  Service access

  • Wherever possible, access for delivery traffic should be separated from other traffic and designed not to interfere with pedistrian traffic. All outside storage and dock space shall be visually screened from parking areas and pedestrian systems by a landscaped wall at least 2 metres in height.
  
  

  Bicycles, motorbikes and motorcycles

  • Provision shall be made for access and parking of bicycles, motorbikes and motorcycles in appropriate, distinct locations.

more to be written…

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture has been responsible for the physical planning within Qatar. Its Urban Planning Department controls this through the medium of its plans, this to the side being the Greater Doha Structure Plan which is stated as intending to establish and control development through to 2030. The plan incorporates six inter-related components – current and proposed physical development patterns, land use, community facilities, transportation, utilities and the environment – all within an interactive framework.

This illustration indicates the planning of land uses around the West Bay about 2003. Taken from a document prepared for the second ministries competition in 2003, and illustrating the intentions of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture’s Urban Planning Department, you will notice a significant change along the Corniche where the area recommended for the ministries in the WLPA 1979 plan has been changed to landscaping. The business district and public plaza elements of the NDOD remain the same. In urban design terms the change signifies a reinforcing of the visual separation of the two urban centres – the NDOD and the old centre of Doha.

more to be written…

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Urban Planning and Development Authority

more to be written…

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National Plan

The impetus given to the development of Qatar by Sheikh Hamad saw the introduction of Louis Berger and Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum to the planning process in Qatar in 1997. 1994-1996. ???

more to be written…

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Ministries competition

One of the important initiatives intended to encourage development within the new plan for Doha was a competition for the design of a ministries complex for Doha. The competition was initiated in 1976. This particular element of the Corniche was seen to be an important link, joining the business district of the NDOD with the Diwan al Amiri and existing centre of Doha, an area with no development on it other than the Ministry of the Interior on feriq al Bida and the National Theatre at Rumaillah.

A brief was prepared by the Office of H.H. The Amir, and four well-known architectural companies from different countries were invited to compete with outline schemes for the ministries complex stretching from the Office of H.H. The Amir in the east to Khalifa Road in the west, this being the main traffic distributor leading from Medinat Khalifa and al Markhiya into the central plaza on West Bay. In effect the scheme ran to the National Theatre site on the southern boundary of the central plaza, and incorporated the Ministry of the Interior building at feriq al Bida.

The architects invited to prepare schemes for this limited competition were The Architects Collaborative, Gunther Behnisch, James Stirling and Kenzo Tange & Urtec. Won by Kenzo Tange the project never got off the ground due to a number of difficulties, particularly in deciding practicalities and coordination with regard to the different ministries originally selected to move to the site. The sketch plan above and the photograph here of part of the model are of the Kenzo Tange scheme. In it the prestigious offices form a continuous band at the front of the scheme looking out over the Corniche, with the working offices behind and having access from the service road.

More recently, in 2003 the process was repeated, albeit with different requirements but reflecting a similar intent in providing a face to Qatar by transforming the Corniche. The architects invited to participate were Patrick Berger, Zaha Hadid, Kamel Louafi, Jean Nouvel, D. Paysage Architects and Martha Schwartz Inc.

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Development of al-’Aliya

In order to begin the process of creating and improving recreational activities in the peninsula, the New District of Doha was the location for a request in the following year to Kenzo Tange and Urtec to produce four alternative schemes for the development of jazeerat al ’Aliya, the island immediately to the north of jazeerat al-Safliya. al ’Aliya was selected rather than the nearer island of al-Safliya in order to move facilities further away from Doha, an attempt to avoid concentrating all recreation within, or close to, Doha, even though this was considered to be a part of the recreational project for the NDOD. Although the improvement of recreational resources was considered to be a priority, the project was put on hold and never realised. To the right is an illustration of one of the four Tange and Urtec schemes that were developed for the island.

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The Tower

As was mentioned in the note above on the Corniche, one of the design elements intended as an integral part both of the Corniche as well as Grand Hamad, was a strong vertical element. This would form the northern focus of Grand Hamad as well as identify the location of the Doha’s suq from the Corniche, in a sense balancing the Hotel and Conference Centre that marks the end of the New District of Doha, approximately 2.8 kilometres directly across the West Bay from the tower.

One of the factors for deciding its location was the positioning of the three small reefs, illustrated above, north of the jetty which, it had transpired, would be difficult to remove inexpensively but which might form a suitable base for a tall structure such as a tower. This sketch plan illustrates the organisation of the jetty on which the tower would be located with parking at its base together with a small number of spaces reserved for marine craft that would move people around the bay.

As can be seen from this photograph of the model set between elevational and perspective sketches, the tower itself was envisioned as a pair of hyperbolic parabaloid structures, both standing on end with the accommodation and vertical access elements of viewing platforms and restaurants set between them. For a number of reasons, this project also did not proceed though the perceived need for a visual focus within the bay continued to arise, another solution considered being a tall water jet, similar to that in Lake Geneva which projects water to a height of 140 metres. Today there is an island in the middle of West Bay that provides a similar focus.

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The Senior Staff housing project

In many ways one of the most important projects that was initiated for the NDOD was the provision of housing for government Senior Staff. Its importance was that it encouraged the design of a better standard of house, improved standards of construction were achieved, it brought a cadre of young Qatari professionals into the process of design and construction, and it required closer cooperation between government departments than had previously been the practice.

This aerial photograph is of a part of one of the earlier areas of Senior Staff housing within the NDOD. This was a novel type of design for Qatar, both in its planning and design. The photograph gives an indication of the character of the layout with its primary and secondary traffic circulation or distribution system leading to cul-de-sac groupings, a character of development dealt with elsewhere in more detail. It is interesting to observe the amount of development on the lots but the most important contribution made by the housing was the improvements it brought to housing generally throughout the country.

To show a little more of the character of the New District of Doha as it has developed, this photograph, taken late 2009 and looking more or less north-west from one of the taller buildings in the commercial district lining the Corniche, shows the predominance of two-storey housing. It also illustrates the lack of structures that aid way-finding, something that the sculptures on roundabouts may help with. What are also not visible are local retail centres as they are few and far between in this part of Doha, but there are a number of masaajid constructed to serve the population of the NDOD. One is just visible in the bottom right corner of the photograph. All this development has benefited from the standards introduced with the Senior Staff housing project.

With the unrestrained development of the country, a number of bad and poor practices had developed, demonstrating themselves in both design and construction. There were, of course, concomitant problems with both the construction industry as well as the government and its ability to police these burgeoning activities, but it was realised that the Senior Staff Housing Project could both provide exemplary housing for those who would live there, but also assist the government in improving a number of issues.

Many of the designs that had developed as standard in the country were imported from countries where those designs may have made sense but, in Qatar, did not. Obviously imported styles had little or no relevance to Qatar if they came from the northern Arab states, Indian sub-continent or Europe and the Americas. Moreover, such styles debased, supplanted or prevented the development of a national style in Qatar.

Because of this it was decided to establish a system for designing and approving those designs with the intention of ensuring that those who lived in the houses would not disbenefit from poor design decisions. A competition was held in the first instance and assistance given to designers to suggest improvements.

Much of this supervisory work was carried out by a cadre of young Qatari architects and engineers, employed by the Office of H.H. The Amir, who not only brought improved standards of design and process to the project but, in obtaining professional experience formed a cadre of nationals with practical experience. This enabled government to move them on to other projects in time, disseminating the skills they had learned and widening the knowledge base of nationals, hopefully reducing reliance on expatriate skills.

One of the first benefits to be experienced was improved cooperation between government departments. With the development of the ministries noted above and relating to construction, chiefly the Ministries of Public Works, Electricity and Water and Transport and Communications, there was a tendency for their departments to plan and resolve their individual problems without reference to other activities that were, or were likely to be carried out in the same area. The most visible evidence of this was the installation of services in newly laid roads, an issue that caused increasing irritation both within and outside government.

A committee was established in the New District of Doha, meeting weekly, with the purpose of coordinating all utilities. In this it was relatively successful, the main difficulty in preventing trenching in new roads was the increasing electricity loads required of upwardly mobile residences. As a result of the success of the committee, the concept of coordinatation was then imposed on the rest of the peninsula with varying degrees of success.

Another area of improvement was that which dealt with the contracting industry working in the New District of Doha. A proper system of prequalification was introduced to all contractors hoping to work in the area, a system that looked at the overall capabilities of the contractor and particularly their supervisory staff. Equipment is not necessarily a problem in the peninsula, though its maintenance may be, but it is staffing and their capabilities that can be problematic. The prequalification encouraged companies to structure and staff themselves properly, and to put in place any requirements that were deemed missing.

At the same time, the quality of materials and their testing and incorporation were examined in order that those used on the various buildings should be of good quality, suited to their purpose and installed appropriately. Samples were demanded, testing required and written statements produced relating to work methods.

In addition to all this, books were produced for every house incorporating their plans, utility systems and maintenance schedules together with planting palettes and recommendations for good practice, essentially a maintenance manual for each site.

The evolution of the Senior Staff housing was beneficial to the State in many ways, not just to those living in the housing. It was a significant advance in the development of the construction industry, government structures, standards and personnel. As such these improvements were passed into the general benefit of the national community.

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Planning blight and demolition

Planning blight has been mentioned elsewhere. Commonly it is seen in the context of the loss experienced by owners whose properties are down-valued as a result of adjacent properties being poorly maintained, or demolished. This in turn may be due to planning requirements changing or being delayed, or the market being unable to sustain development of the appropriate character. While I have suggested that the meaning of blight differs in Qatar, there is a significant amount of demolition around the major centres, particularly Doha, as ground is prepared for further redevelopment, usually at a higher density or over a greater area. Those who live in Qatar have become used to this, though the process brings about not only problems associated with dust, nuisance and increased traffic but, often not fully recognised, difficulties associated with disorientation and loss.

This photograph is of an old palace on the Rayyan Road with an area of land cleared in front of it for development. In the distance, two of the tall buildings on the New District of Doha can be seen. The photograph illustrates something of the change that is happening at all levels of society. This property is situated in a highly valuable position but, like many of the sites that are being cleared within the inner area of Doha, it is an important landmark in the urban scene as well as in the collective memories of those living in Qatar. This in turn has its effect on the way in which planning affects our individual and collective histories.

Conversations with Qataris suggest the latter deal with the issue in a number of ways, to some extent reinforcing their personal links while also increasing for some their concern for the effects of change on their society. It is my intention to write about this on one of the society pages, but it is mentioned here as it appears to me to be an area of planning that needs to be borne in mind, though is rarely considered.

The Heart of Doha project

The centre of old Doha has, over time, been downgraded in its importance by the development of business districts in the New District of Doha, Grand Hamad and a number of other areas dispersed around Doha. This area has been the focus of commercial and business activities since the beginnings of its development over sixty years ago. The site is known as Muhammad bin Jassim, though more popularly as Mushairib and is bounded on the north by the Rayyan Road, the west by shara’ al-Diwan, on the south by shara’ Ali bin Abdullah and, on the east, by the newly redeveloped suq Waqf. It contains the once popular commercial streets of shara’ al kahraba, shara’ Abdullah bin Thani and shara’ al-Asmakh as well as shara’ Mushairib and shara’ suq Waqf.

Around 2005 initiatives were begun with a view to demolishing this area and building in its place a relatively dense business district replacement to be known as the Heart of Doha project. This view looks over it and illustrates its relationship with the Ruler’s Offices seen in the centre adjacent to the West Bay and the two storey development of suq Waqf on the right. The Islamic Arts Centre designed by I.M. Pei can be identified top right.

The project is ambitious in both its scope and intent. The design is to be established on the five principles of enrichment, environment, heritage, innovation and sustainability and, from a design perspective, there will be an intent to incorporate certain aspects of traditional Qatari architecture such as proportion, simplicity, space, light, layering, ornament and response to climate in the buildings and their environment. However, the most important parameter is to reverse the planning of the past generation by encouraging a more integrated development that reduces the impact of cars and introduces a tighter, urban environment more suited to the region.

At the beginning of 2010, progress on the project was announced in the local press. The first phase of the project focusses on the Diwan al Amiri where its annexe, the Amiri Guard headquarters and the National Archive are based, the area extending to what is termed the ‘heritage quarter’ which incorporates the ’Eid prayer ground and four heritage houses – a company House, Jalmoot House and the houses of Mohammed bin Jasim and Abdullah bin Jassim, the intention being to find a sympathetic use for the buildings. The article goes on to state that:

the first phase infrastructure includes central cooling plant, utilities and waste provision, basement service roads and parking. In the second stage, which will is expected to begin this year and conclude in 2013 a multimedia centre for arts, central hotel and serviced apartments, luxury shopping street, exclusive town house, a primary school, the Ferjan Square mosque and see the first satge of rebirth of Al Kahraba street. The later stages will include a connection to souq wakif, a retail mall, more hotels, offices apartment, shops, a tram system and an underground Metro station hub apart from to Nakeel Square.

All in all, an extremely ambitious project bearing in mind the state of the market at the beginning of 2010 and the general pressures bearing on development in the peninsula and region.

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Planning for the future

Meanwhile, the government continues to deal with the problems it sees as constraining or affecting development and, in January 2010, has announced a crucial stage in its preparation of the Qatar National Master Plan 2032. Looking twenty-two years ahead may seem a long time bearing in mind the different things that may come about in the interim and that might influence policies and goals. But establishing long term goals and objectives creates a framework in which shorter term strategies may be set and met. The presentation suggested that it might take until the end of the year to obtain cooperation with a variety of stakeholders in order to complete the draft which would then go to ‘higher authorities’ for ratification.

What is interesting in the new announcement is the enunciation of their strategies. The plan

• accepts the continuing enlarging of the population which is now stated at 1.6 million, having doubled in the last three years,
• wishes to limit the attraction of Doha by making the six municipalities surrounding it self-sufficient in terms of their facilities, thus limiting travel,
• intends to reduce the population in existing residential areas by enabling people to live closer to their workplaces,
• encourages both nationals and expatriates to use the public transport system, hoping to change the existing public to private transportation ratio from the existing 20:80 to 60:40,
• requires greatly improved public transport links to reduce the existing traffic congestion,
• intends to introduce pay and park systems, again to relieve traffic on the roads,
• will create clusters of civic amenities, probably on vacant land,
• clarifies information to both developers and the public on where to live and what opportunities there are for them, and
• conceives developing special zones solely for Qataris, both existing suburban areas as well as those within the city.

In brief, the plan

• appears to accept the continuing inbalance between national and expatriate populations, itself a reflection of a variety of strategic and commercial strategies,
• seeks to redistribute the population both geographically and nationally, and
• attempts to reorganise traffic models to reduce existing congestion.

All these policies will have a considerable effect on the national population, particularly those having interests in business and development as there is considerable value in land, real estate and the construction industry. The planners have stated that there are discussions being held with private and public groups with an interest in planning. At same time, of course, the plan will be discussed and debated throughout the majlis system which means that all will be aware of it and will begin the process of making representations formally and, particularly, informally in order to take benefit. As I have written in a brief note elsewhere, the Gulf states have developed many of the institutions and organisations of the West, yet the majlis system still operates. This informs the processes and, in many instances, drives them.

Of particular interest is the introduction of overt policies to create areas in which only nationals would live. This is not new, of course, it was practised years ago with the development of the Salata al-jadida area for members of the al-Sulaiti qabila who were moved from their feriq on the east bay of Doha. The Government Senior Staff area in the New District of Doha is also an area reserved for Qatari nationals.

While nationals may have houses in reserved areas, there is at present nothing to stop them leasing their houses to expatriates, a common and useful source of revenue. In addition to this, many expatriate service personnel live within their boundary walls as well as within conversions or additions given over to small shops, again a useful source of revenue as well as providing a necessary retail resource to those living in the neighbourhood.

more to be written…