Unlimited Doha Design Prize to reveal shortlisted participants

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8 Mar 2016

The Unlimited Doha Design Prize, being held under the patronage of H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums and in partnership with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, has declared 28th February as the final deadline for submitting entries.

British Council, lead organiser of the event, revealed today that it has shortlisted 21 contestants who have been invited for a week-long design residency in Doha. 10 participants from the shortlisted architects come from the UK and the remainder from the Gulf. UK practices include Bharat & Jean, The Edible Bus Stop, Studio Ben Allen and Scott Whitby Studio amongst others.

The participating architects, designers and urban designers will work together in teams designs on different scales using various media, under the theme of ‘The Open City’, incorporating new ideas, innovative designs and futuristic solutions that will help to improve the experience of mobility and accessibility within cities. The submissions included drawings, models, photographs, films and documents.

The Unlimited Doha Design Prize is a sequel to the highly successful Old Doha Prize 2013, an architectural and design prize to redesign a part of the historic city.

The shortlisted participants are now eligible to contribute to British Council’s concepts of beautifying Doha, one of the youngest and dynamic cities in the Gulf region, which offers exciting opportunities to build new communities, public urban spaces and transportation links that will shape the lives of the people over the next decade and beyond.

The shortlisted candidates will be required to create a detailed site brief for their projects.

Shortlisted applicants are: Abdullah Alessa, Abdulrahman Gazzaz and Faisal Alzakari from Saudi Arabia. Maysam Al Nasser and Vincent Tse from Bahrain. Fortune Panniman from UAE. Nerea Corral Prados, Francisco Trujillo Baute, Gizem Kahraman, Ömer Can Aksoy, Deena Al Terawi from Qatar.

At the end of the weeklong stay, a winning team will be awarded the Unlimited Doha Design Prize, along with a grant for developing the project proposal further as a team. This might include the implementation of the project in the form of an exhibition, research project, publication, installation, public intervention or film.

The jury includes high-profile, international experts, such as Brian Timmoney, Foster + Partners, Virginia Newman Director at KSR Architects and RIBA Diversity Ambassador, Tim Makower, Makower Architects, Professor Nick Tyler, CBE FREng, Professor of Civil Engineering, University College London, Abdullah al Baker, Qatar Engineering Society, Dr. Yasser Mahgoub, Head of Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Qatar University, Mohuiddin Jamaleddin, Senior Architect and Senior Regional Planner, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Maha Al Hajri, Director of Architecture & Engineering Department, Qatar Museums, Dr Yasser Elsheshtawy, Associate Professor, Architecture, UAE University, Mark Dyer, Accessibility and Inclusive Design Advisor, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and Alastair Donald, Architecture Programme Manager, British Council as chair of the jury.

“We are delighted with the level of innovation presented in the first round of The Unlimited Doha Design Prize,” noted Stephen Stenning, British Council Director Arts Middle East North Africa. “Through this design-residency, we are looking to inspire architects and designers to develop improvements to architecture and urban building design to enhance the experience of movement, build frontage and public space, response to the hot climate of Qatar and its seasonal cycles, enhance the experience of pedestrian transitions across major roads or accessing transport infrastructure, and utilise products, technologies or urban furniture that improve the experience of inhabiting the public sphere.”

As part of the Unlimited Doha Design Prize, there will be an education and practice programme featuring key experts in the field, including key UK and Gulf leaders from the architecture and design sector as well as eminent institutional representatives.

Through this prestigious event, the winning team will have the opportunity and resources for further development of their projects. The team will also have the chance to visit and, subject to negotiations, exhibit at the London Festival of Architecture in June 2016.

“We urge the shortlisted applicants to make maximum use of the design-residency. Winning the prestigious Unlimited Doha Design Prize will give them an important opportunity to be recognised, promote the project to a wider media in the UK and the Gulf region, and serve as a confident booster in their career,” added Stenning.