DOHA, April 8th, 2009: DOHALAND welcomed an eminent delegation of scholars and academicians from the world renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to Doha for a week-long visit including a two-day seminar looking at the future of architecture in Qatar. The workshop, 'Complementary not Contrary: From the Local to the Global in Architecture', was jointly organised by DOHALAND and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, and led by Professor Nasser Rabbat.

Launched on March 3rd, DOHALAND is quickly establishing itself by leading and encouraging new thinking about how development in the region could be different. DOHALAND is developing an architectural and urban planning language that places a particular emphasis on local heritage and culture.

The workshop was part of the DOHALAND knowledge-sharing exercise as it extends its support to educational institutions, encouraging an exchange and share program. The seminar put forth the company's distinctive approach to development in Qatar, adopting a new architectural language that will be suitable for the region.

Engineer Issa Al Mohannadi, DOHALAND CEO, said, "We welcome the MIT students who chose to visit us here in Doha to discuss issues that are of mutual interest to DOHALAND, and their work in the field. We hope the students find this visit useful to their career and gain from exposure to DOHALAND research that rediscovers the DNA of building designs from the past, and incorporates it in the new architectural language set for Qatar and the region."

Dr. Rabbat commented, "What DOHALAND seeks to do in Qatar is ambitious and laudable. By advocating simple design principles such as respect for topography and ecology, thoughtful adaptation of regional norms and environmental strategies, and promotion of contemporaneity rooted in heritage, DOHALAND aspires to propose a new paradigm of architecture and planning for the cities of the Arabian Gulf."

Dr. Rabbat holds a PhD from MIT, degrees in architecture from the University of Damascus and UCLA; and has worked as a designer in Damascus and Los Angeles. He is the co-editor of 'Making Cairo Medieval' (2005) and the author of 'The Citadel of Cairo: A New Interpretation of Mamluk Royal Architecture' (1995) and, in Arabic 'The Culture of Building and Building Culture: Essays and Articles on the Criticism and History of Architecture' 1985-2000 (2002).

Dr Rabbat and his team of students toured signature projects of Qatar Foundation, DOHALAND, the Qatar University, as well as some top architectural firms and some major projects in the city. They also visited Souq Waqef, Museum of Islamic Art and Museum School, The Orientalist Museum, The Arab Museum for Modern Art, and Sheikh Faisal's Bin Qasim private museum in Shahaniyah.

-Ends-

About DOHALAND
A subsidiary of Qatar Foundation and aligned with the 'Qatar National Vision 2030', DOHALAND will lead innovation in urban living through sustainability and heritage, providing a dynamic modern lifestyle that exists in harmony with its surroundings and empowers human potential to grow and flourish.

Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned established DOHALAND with a mandate to address a gap in the architectural history of Qatar and rediscover a unique form of Qatari urban development.

DOHALAND aims to understand, and eventually implement, what was good about the past, and how modern, innovative technologies and thinking can be blended to create a new architectural language rooted in the best of the past. DOHALAND has invested time and resources towards researching a Qatari architecture and urban planning language with the foremost experts in the industry to reclaim this language for future generations.

DOHALAND will cultivate enduring environments for the benefit of people, built to the highest international environmental standards and best practice. DOHALAND aims to become the preferred real estate development partner in Qatar leading by example, leading the market and becoming an employer of choice.

For further information or to request an interview, please contact:
Jawaher Al Khuzaei
DOHALAND
Email: jalkhuzaei@qf.org.qa
Mobile (974) 556 8992

Chatura Abbasi
Haggie Hepburn
Email:chatura.abbasi@haggiehepburn.com
Mobile: (974) 572 3657

© Press Release 2009