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As the capital and largest city in the country, Doha is the economic centre of Qatar. A recent onslaught in highrise construction predicated on Doha's explosive population boom responds to an increased demand for housing. The host of many global sporting and cultural events, including the 1995 FIFA World Youth Championship and 2006 Asian Games, Doha's international clout received another prodigious boost when they were selected to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As a result, the city's real estate prices have risen considerably.
Doha's West Bay has become the primary location of major highrise and mixed-use projects. In 2011, more than 50 towers were under construction in the city. This rapid vertical expansion is perhaps no greater illustrated than in the below angle of West Bay, which in 2008, was more populated by construction workers than the office tenants to come.
The 2015 image below signifies the wave of development that has transformed the area. A number of new and rather unorthodox towers have created an unmistakably modern skyline of glass and architectural ornamentation. Pictured on the left and completed in 2014, the metallic and amorphous Qatar International Islamic Bank Headquarters Tower stands at 45 storeys and 191 metres — tall enough on its own, yet it doesn't even crack the top 20 tallest buildings in the city. Just behind that are the twin Palm Towers, which at 58 storeys and 244 metres, claim the third spot in Doha's tall building ranking. Punctuated with stainless steel fins and extruded walls, the slender towers were inspired by the native palm trees of Qatar.
The towers frame and partially obscure the hyperbolic Tornado Tower, which employs a tubular steel diagrid to maximum visual effect. The kinetic tower is even more animated by night, when a specially designed lighting system by artist Thomas Emde mimics the chaotic torsion of a twister. Further to the right is the Al Bidda Tower, which was approaching completion in the 2008 image. One of the earlier developments to hop on the 'twisting tower' bandwagon, the building's diagonal curtain wall sheaths an enlarging floor plate that culminates with a five-storey open atrium. Like other curtain wall buildings in Doha, Al Bidda Tower utilizes double glazing and low-E glass.
With its protruding, spaceship-like upper floor, World Trade Center Doha lends another distinct silhouette to a skyline of frenzied shapes and geometry. The city's fifth tallest building also has an attention-grabbing street presence with its spherical auditorium. Finally, French architect Jean Nouvel's contribution to the city takes the form of a cylindrical tower topped by a dome and spire and clad in a latticed stainless steel screen. The 2012-built, 238-metre skyscraper takes its aesthetic from the traditional Islamic "mashrabiya," the artistic screening device employed for shading and privacy.
Though it can't quite compete with the height and scale of Middle Eastern rival Dubai, Doha's skyline finds its genesis as a testing ground for architectural innovation. An urban fabric devoid of monotony, each tower makes a mark on the identity of the city as a whole, vigorously presenting Doha's status as an important regional hub for commerce.
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