Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani at a groundbreaking ceremony renamed Dohaland’s QR20 billion ($5.4 billion) signature project ‘Heart of Doha’ as ‘Musheireb’ thus reviving the historical significance of the centre of the city.

The ceremony also witnessed Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, chairperson of Dohaland, reviving an age-old Qatari tradition by leaving her handprint on the cornerstone of the ‘Musheireb’ project.

“Our past clearly reflected that communities in Qatar have always been close knit. People lived and worked together in harmony with the climate, with the land and with each other. We had our own ways of dealing with our environment which was sustainable and human in scale, and thus, our architecture reflected the unity of our family’s identity,” said Sheikha Mozah at the ceremony.

Issa M. Al Mohannadi, CEO of Dohaland, said the ‘Musheireb’ project will be completed in five phases, with the first phase due for completion by 2012.
 
The development will contain 226 buildings and will be home to 27,637 residents. It will have around 13,700 parking lots as well as a dedicated tramway, with a combination of commercial and residential properties, retail, cultural and entertainment areas. There will be parks and open spaces with a total area of 122,217 sqm.

The entire project will be completed by 2016, he added.

Al Mohannadi affirmed that the ‘Musheireb’ project will recreate the city’s architectural scene and will strive to become a source introducing Doha visitors to our deep roots and special identity.

"The ‘Musheireb’ project will mark the return of this old link between the communities and their environment, where habitations were more than mere structures where people lived - they were backdrops of peoples’ aspirations, struggles and achievements, integral and living elements of a nation’s hopes," he opined.

“Skyscrapers and isolated living compounds are not the communities we aspire to in Doha. We therefore decided to revive our past, rediscover our traditions, and regenerate the communities we have lost in this globalized world. We will do this by combining the spirit and aesthetic of yesterday with eco-friendly and sustainable knowhow of tomorrow,” he remarked.

‘Musheireb’, is a pioneering effort developed to revive the old commercial centre of the city, by deploying a community-based architectural language across a massive 35 hectare site.

Ultimately, ‘Musheireb’ will form an iconic landmark within the city – a district that is globally recognisable yet provides a comfortable neighbourhood in which to live, work and thrive.

“The ‘Musheireb’ project will transform the landscape in the city. When you set foot here you will know that this is Qatar, an advanced country that is deeply connected to its roots, with its own identity and aesthetics. Other countries will want to emulate our city, and the ‘Musheireb’ will become the model everyone will seek to replicate,” he added.

Located in Inner Doha, the old city centre of Qatar’s capital is being regenerated to recreate an amalgamation of old traditions and new technologies that encompass sustainability and an appreciation of Qatar’s historical legacy.-TradeArabia News Service