Qatar National Convention

Centre (QNCC), Qatar

Location: Doha, Qatar
Architect: Arata Isozaki
Completed: December 2011
Category: Exhibition & Convention Center
Area: 27 acres
Capacity: 27,000 delegates
Introduction

The Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) is being built in Doha as part of the Qatar
Foundation Education City. Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded by Emir of the
State of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani in 1995.

Conceptual design of the QNCC was provided by Yamasaki Architects and RHWL, based on a
design conceived by Arata Isozaki. The convention centre will have advanced solutions and form a
benchmark in international venue design. Apart from exhibitions and conferences, the convention
centre will host local and international music and arts festivals, and international events such as
boat and motor shows.
Design on the QNCC started in 2006 and was completed in the first quarter of 2009. The 177,000m²
convention centre development is estimated to cost $1.2bn upon completion.
Site location

The Convention Center is

located within the Qatar
Foundation Campus, in
Gharafat al Rayyan, on the
Dukhan Highway, so it has
excellent communication
routes with the rest of the city
of Doha, including the new
metro line that It is expected
to be completed by 2022, the
year of the World Cup in the
Emirate.
It is located next to the 
Qatar Science and Technology
Park
, the Sidra Research and
Medicine Center, world-
renowned universities and
research and technology
institutions.
SITE PLAN
Concept
The building was designed by Arata Isozaki to
reference the Sidrat al-Muntaha(Sidra Tree), a holy
Islamic tree that is believed to symbolize the end of
the seventh heaven.
A pair of sprawling steel columns create the illusion of two trees in front of the large
rectangular glass facade, supporting a roof canopy that extends out to offer shelter to a
public plaza in front of the building.
The convention centre will be a six-
storey structure with a basement
measuring about 250m long and 110m
wide. The iconic design of the building
will be a huge organic structure
resembling two intertwined trees in the
main façade. It represents Sidra Tree, a
beloved and multifaceted icon in Qatari
culture and the emblem of the Qatar
Foundation. The tree is a beacon of
learning and comfort in the desert, a
shady haven for poets and scholars who
gather beneath its branches to share
knowledge. The tree structure will act as
the main entrance and also support the
external canopy of the building.
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Shots
Front Elevation

Central Foyer
 Spaces

In the front part of the building there is a public square partially protected by the extension of
the roof that rests on two huge steel columns with a tree-like shape forming a canopy that
protects both this space and the large glass facade from the strong sunlight.

Once visitors enter they access a huge lobby that covers the entire width and height of the
building. Retracted from the facade are reception counters, access to different rooms and the
stairs that lead to both the upper floor and lower floor spaces. In the center of the lobby,
escalators go up to the first level and open to a wide corridor that leads to the restaurant cafe,
preceded by a water mirror that offers different combinations of LED light sets and on which
hang many green pieces that resemble big leaves. Before entering the restaurant a huge
Maman  receives the visitor. Already in the restaurant two imposing stairs open around each
side of the bar and leading to a higher level.
Spaces

Multi-level car
parking for 3200 cars.

Theatre of 2300
seats

9 Exhibition Halls 3 Auditoriums for

of total 35,000 sq. 458 guests each.

Conference Hall
for 4000 seats(3000 sq.) 52 Meeting Rooms

open banquet space

for 1000 sq.
AL MAYASSA theatre

• 10 dressing rooms
• 2 star dressing rooms
• 2 chorus changing rooms
• green room
• 5 musicians’ rooms
• Conductor’s room
• Front projection screen: 10 x 5.7m (16:9)
Meeting halls

A total of 52 meeting rooms with a seating capacity ranging from 10 to 260 seats.

Each room comes fully equipped with a 108-inch screen and built-in AV system.

Includes four sets of connected meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 260
delegates.

The meeting rooms can be subdivided according to one’s needs and connected to set up
a variety of configurations.
Meetings Rooms

• 52 meeting rooms (variety of sizes)

• There are four connected rooms that
can accommodate up to 260
delegates.
• Any number of configurations can be
achieved by sub-dividing or
connecting the rooms.
AUDITORIUM

3 tiered auditoriums with built-in stages, AV production room and

translation booths, that can accommodate up to 382, 289 and 458 guests
respectively.
Conference Halls

QNCC features a conference hall

of 4,000-seat theatre style, a
2,300-seat theatre, three
auditoria and a total of 52
flexible meetings rooms to
accommodate a wide range of
events. It also houses 40,000
square meters of exhibition
space over nine halls, and is
adaptable to seat 10,000 for a
conference or banquet. The
Centre’s stunning architecture
and cutting edge facilities are
ideal for hosting local, regional
and international conventions
and exhibitions, gala events,
theatrical productions and
banquet functions.
Exhibition halls

• 9 exhibition halls providing

35,000 m² of exhibition space
• outdoor exhibition space of
3,100m

QNCC’s exhibition hall ceiling consists of a series of gridded modules that can
each be individually raised or lowered at the touch of a button, all the way
down to floor level, giving the building the flexibility to change its shape
depending on the event that is being hosted.

The exhibition halls are also fitted with full color LED lighting that allows
organizers to control the ambiance.
Materials

STEEL & GLASS

TILE CLADDING & ACP
The rectangular facade of the center is made of
glass and steel. The roof concrete roof is a
structure 40 m long and 30 m wide supported by
tree structures. Approximately 60,000 m² of
reinforced concrete and 90,000 m² of structural
steel have been used in its construction
Some of the walls that flank the stairs that
connect the lobby with both upper and lower
levels are clad in a stainless steel Maya, others
show tessellated shapes in bright colors or Italian
marble cladding in garnet tones.

In the wide hallway that leads to the restaurant,

visitors find an impressive sculpture by Louise
Bourgeois, a Maman (Mom) like the one on the outer
esplanade of Frank Gehry‘s Guggenheim Bilbao.
The meeting rooms are finished with treated teak
and the hallways are clad in wood paneling. The
auditoriums have Italian leather seats, material
that is repeated on the walls of the theaters.
(LEED) gold certification

QNCC was conceived with a

focus on sustainability. The
Centre was successfully built
according to U.S. Green
Building Council’s Leadership in
Energy and Environment
Design (LEED) gold certification
standards. The building is
designed to operate efficiently
with innovations such as water
conservation and energy-
efficient fixtures.

Other resource-saving features include water-efficient

fixtures, occupancy sensors, carbon dioxide monitors
and sustainable air-volume systems.
Structure/construction
"The convention centre will be a six-storey structure with a basement measuring about 250m long
and 110m wide.“

The building structure was constructed upside down from roof deck to the foundations using
Macalloy bars to reduce costs. The 250m-long organic Sidra Tree metal structures were
fabricated in Malaysia and shipped for assembly to Doha. The concrete roof deck of the building
will be a 40m-long and 30m-wide structure supported by the tree structures.

The steel tree structures grow from two concrete bases along the façade and divide into four
branches. They are made with structural core of octagonal tubes. The iconic Sidra Tree branch
façade will change its colour daily due to six undercoats.
Structure/construction

Steel tree structures grow from two concrete bases placed a third of the length of the facade.
Each has four main branches of approximately 7 m in diameter at the base and 4 m at the top.
Two of these branches extend towards the end of the roof, the other two lean toward the
central section. They are made with structural core of octagonal tubes.
Structure/construction

r
High ceilings paired with the abundance of natural
sunlight integrated into the very design of the space.

The walls, roof, and windows are built to integrate

maximum insulation with the exterior construction to
minimize energy usage.

The design of skylights allow for natural day lighting,

r reducing the energy consumption and providing a

warmer ambience.
Roof
The cover supports considerable loads. The extreme angle of the branches, with an
approximate weight of 6,000tn, tends to fall sideways and seems to separate the roof. This in
turn must be rigid enough because any movement would crack the glass facade.
According to the engineers, building the structure conventionally from scratch would have
been too difficult and expensive because all the work would have to be done at height, 104
support towers would have been necessary. Instead, the team chose to build everything on the
ground and put it in position, which meant that “only” 46 towers were required. Interestingly,
the foundations of the structure were built after the roof cover and trees were lifted.
The roof deck was the first element that was built in two large sections on the ground. The
massive tensile forces on the roof were attacked using 76 Macalloy bars, these are high
strength reinforcements that can be quickly connected to each other by an effective coupling
mechanism.
Roof
Trees

The roof of the National Convention Center rests on gigantic tree-shaped

columns. The large glass facade is inserted between the branches,
suspended from the upper deck, so that half of the tree’s branches are
outside and the other half inside the lobby. The organic metal structures
that make up the 250 m long Sidra Tree were manufactured in Malaysia
and sent for assembly to Doha.
 Parking

Spread out across an area of 200,000m2,

QNCC is a 3-level complex with a 5-
storey car park connected by an air-
conditioned walkway.

Within the vicinity of QNCC,

there are:

■ 2 VIP car parks,

covered parking for 3,200

vehicles and 40 buses connected
by air-conditioned travellators.
LIGHTING

■ Different types of Lighting fixtures are used in exterior and interior for the aesthetics
purposes.
 ACOUSTICS

The ceilings and walls inside the Qatar National Convention Centre are clad with 6,000 m² of
architectural wire mesh made by Haver & Boecker. To meet the exclusive requirements of the
room’s ambience, the designers chose bronze wire mesh. The high-quality aesthetic of the
architectural mesh, as well as the excellent long-life properties, non-flammability, easy
maintenance and recyclability, made choosing Haver & Boecker wire mesh an easy decision
for the client.

The walls of the Theatre Hall are clad with bronze wire mesh type MULTI-BARRETTE 8123,
which underlines the exclusivity of the ambience due it´s colour. The elegance of the wire
mesh allows interaction with various light reflections and gives the mesh a unique aesthetic.
Shots
EXTERIOR VIEW

INTERIOR VIEW