Msheireb Eid Prayer Ground

Doha’s oldest Eid Prayer Ground has been reinstated as a sacred landscape within Msheireb Downtown Doha. A new architectural language developed from an understanding of the Qatari vernacular appropriate to the prominent cultural context with an appropriate balance between openness and enclosure. Conceived as an outdoor room at the scale of a city block, the design resolves the contingent alignments of the surrounding street pattern with the pure geometry of a space orientated towards Mecca, defined by the Qibla Wall. Presenting the Prayer Ground on the main road, a loggia frames inward views of the mihrab and outward views of the old town, whilst at Eid its openings enable a sense of connection between worshippers on the street and those within.

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Early morning Eid celebrations

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Context

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A combination of stone from nearby Omani quarries and render used, as with the National Archive building behind, this palette evokes a vernacular architectural language in a contemporary way

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By placing the most prominent entrance along Jassim Bin Mohammed Street, the Prayer Ground frames a new, permeable public space

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Framing views of the neighbouring souk and fort, a loggia provides a naturally cooled area for shoes, as well as a place for worshippers to linger and enjoy each other’s company after Eid prayers

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An Ayah from the Qu’ran by master calligrapher Sabah Arbilli is inscribed into the stonework of the Qibla wall

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The Prayer Ground conceals four levels of underground, district infrastructure that serve the whole neighbourhood, integrated in the versatile space between the prayer ground walls, vent shafts and incorporated into its egress stairs

City: Doha, Qatar
Uses: Culture, Infrastructure
Client: Arup for Msheireb Properties, a subsidiary of the Qatar Foundation
Status: Completed
Size: 4,000 sqm
Awards: Faith & Form Award Religious Art and Architecture Award for Sacred Landscape
Collaborators: Structure: Arup