01 April 2013

OMA, a leading international partnership practising architecture, urbanism and cultural analysis, has been named as the masterplanner for Airport City in Qatar, a new 10-sq-km development linking the new Hamad International Airport (HIA) with the capital Doha.

Chosen after winning an international competition for the project, OMA’s masterplan for the city, where 200,000 people will live and work, comprises 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 characteristics.

Phase One of the 30-year masterplan, 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, to be hosted by Qatar.

Rem Koolhaas, a partner at OMA, commented: “The project is perhaps the first serious effort anywhere in the world to interface between an international airport and the city it serves.”

Partner-in-charge Iyad Alsaka said: “Doha’s Airport City will incorporate unprecedented transport planning opportunities.”

Each district of Airport City will be unique within the masterplan’s overall identity. The business district will focus 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 residents and tourists.

The OMA competition team was led by partners Alsaka, Reinier de Graaf, Koolhaas and OMA associate Katrin Betschinger in collaboration with engineering consultant WSP. The masterplan and development of the city’s individual elements is being led by Alsaka, project director Slavis Poczebutas and Betschinger.

The Airport City infrastructure and utilities along with the western taxiway and aircraft parking system adjacent to HIA’s second runway, the HIA visa building, and the future transport hub are expected to be completed before the 2022 World Cup.

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