Al Thumama Stadium Wins Prestigious International Architectural Accolade

Doha, May 21 (QNA) - Al Thumama Stadium, a proposed host venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, has received the prestigious MIPIM/Architectural Review Future Project Award in the sport and stadiums category.

The award was received during a ceremony in Cannes, France, by the stadium's designer, and Chief Architect of Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB), Ibrahim Mohammed Jaidah, who attended on behalf of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), the organisation responsible for delivering the infrastructure required for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The MIPIM/Architectural Review Future Project Awards now in their 17th year honour excellence in not-yet-built or under construction projects in 12 categories. Entries are judged by a renowned international jury and published in the Architectural Review.

The award presented to Al Thumama Stadium assesses entries based on the technological innovations used in their design and construction, as well as their connectedness to surrounding urban and environmental planning.

Commenting on the award, Jaidah said: "It is a great honour to win the prestigious MIPIM/AR Future Project Award for Al Thumama Stadium. I feel that this is just the beginning of the accolades that will follow, for not only Al Thumama, but also other stadia designed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which are all masterpieces in their own right."

Jaidah continued: "These are state-of-the-art-stadia, but are designed in a way that reflects our culture and reinforces our identity. Qatar is being recognised on the international stage, and it is my absolute privilege to be involved in a project that has received such an important and respected award."

"The design approach for Al Thumama is based on contextually appropriate and environmentally sustainable solutions," added Jaidah. "Bearing in mind the SC's mission, Al Thumama is a patron of a sustainable environment and local community."

Meanwhile, the SC's Al Thumama Stadium Project Manager,Saoud Al Ansari, said: "Receiving the MIPIM award is a true testament to the uniqueness of Al Thumama Stadium's design, which is rooted in our culture and traditions.

"The award is also a culmination of all efforts that have gone into the design and planning of this proposed FIFA World Cup venue, and we are proud that such a Qatari-inspired and developed vision has been recognised internationally," he continued.

The stadium's design is inspired by the 'gahfiya' headdress worn by men in Qatar and across the MENA region, and is built on valuing and preserving its context. Cooling technology using solar energy was also devised in the design to decrease the carbon footprint of the structure in the long term, which is targeting a four-star Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) certification for both design and construction.

Main contractor works at Al Thumama Stadium are scheduled for completion by 2020. The 40,000-seat stadium will be accessible to people with disabilities and will have modular upper tiers, thereby enabling the capacity to be reduced to 20,000 in legacy mode, with the excess seats donated to nations in need of sporting infrastructure.

AEB is the award-winning, first locally established architectural and engineering consultancy firm in Qatar. Its extensive portfolio includes over 1,500 projects of various typologies across the Middle East and Southeast Asia (QNA).

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