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Architect Frida Escobedo has revealed the bayside headquarters of Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will incorporate Doha's modernist General Post Office building.
Frida Escobedo Studio's 70,000-square-metre complex will be located on Al Corniche, Doha's waterfront promenade, and house Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
It was designed to "establish a more visible civic presence for the nation’s diplomatic service and offer the public unprecedented access to the ministry complex," the studio said.
The large complex will overlook the Persian GulfThe MOFA complex will combine a new building by Frida Escobedo Studio with the adaptive reuse of the General Post Office (GPO), a 1985 building known for its "pigeonhole" design.
This will be assimilated into the new complex, which Escobedo designed around a series of courtyards. Renders show stepped, terraced buildings with gridded facades, which sprawl along the waterfront.
"This project will be situated in a strategic location on Al Corniche, nestled amidst a rich constellation of landmarks," Escobedo said.
"With the addition of MOFA, the site of the General Post Office will renew its position of importance as a threshold between Qatar and the world."
The MOFA complex will feature a grid of vertical pillars and was designed to complement the GPO, which sits to one side of it.
"The stepping mass of MOFA asserts a subdued monumentality, while respecting the visibility of the GPO," Escobedo explained.
"Inspired by its neighbour, MOFA's curving facade elements come alive through light and shadow. Within the protective exterior, workers, ministers and visitors discover lush patios."
Gardens and courtyards will feature throughout the spaceThe ground floor of GPO will be turned into an exhibition space that transitions into a covered garden.
"Breathing new life into the GPO, art, nature, a new program, such as a cafe and library, will cement the building's civic importance for Doha and signal Qatar Museums' dedication to cultural heritage," Escobedo said.
"Representing two markers of time, the GPO and the new MOFA are themselves a threshold between past and future, leading Qatar into its next stage as a global leader."
Escobedo's studio was chosen to design MOFA after beating an initial group of 40 architectural teams in a competition managed by Malcolm Reading Consultants on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Qatar Museums.
The project will be engineered by British firm Buro Happold and feature landscaping by landscape designers Studio Zewde.
It has been a big year for Escobedo, who recently completed a brick tower in Harlem. In an interview with Dezeen, the architect said she doesn't "believe in specialisation".
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