Lusail Sports Arena project director Khaled Hamad al-Mohannadi (centre), QOC Sports Press Committee board member Mubarak al-Boainin (left) and AIPS president Gianni Merlo near a digital wayfinder at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall in Doha. Right: A computer-generated image of Lusail Sports Arena.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
The Qatar Olympic Committee and its allied associations are living by the phrase ‘Nothing is Impossible’.
The state-of-the-art Lusail Multipurpose Hall, one of the three venues for the Qatar 2015, 24th Men’s Handball World Championship isn’t just an architectural marvel, but a ‘Green Building’ for it is not just environmentally responsible but also resource-efficient.
“The Lusail Multipurpose Hall has been awarded the prestigious 4 GSAS stars for employing eco-friendly construction and sustainability techniques,” Said Khaled Hamad al-Mohannadi, the project director of the Lusail Sports Arena.
The Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) is a rating system developed by the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD), with an objective of creating a sustainable built environment that minimises ecological impact in the region.
“You won’t believe that Lusail had already been awarded the 3 stars on design and when evaluation of the structure was done, we managed to bag the fourth star as well,” said the engineer, with a sense of pride.
And that’s not all for the entire stadium which was constructed within a very short span. “We started the project in December 2012 and by the end of 2014 it was complete,” added al-Mohannadi, who is also the assistant secretary general for Technical Support at the Qatar Olympic Committee.
Elaborating on the eco-friendly aspects of Lusail Multipurpose Hall, al-Mohannadi said, “Probably the most innovative feature that has been used here is ‘Fog Harvesting’. The design of Lusail is such that it can draw water out of thin air (fog). And this is so clean that it can be used for drinking.”
“Apart from this feature, we are effectively utilising grey water for optimisation of resources,” he added.
And it’s not just optimisation of water that Qatar’s pioneering engineers have focused on at Lusail, for the stadium is installed with energy and power saving devices with automated features like sensors and centralised controlling systems.
Electro-mechanical low voltage devices in spectators, athletes, media, VIP, VVIP, logistics, workforce and other areas and bio-dryers in rest rooms, and other features have not just added to the efficiency of the building, it has even reduced the carbon footprint of the stadium.
Also in the couple of years, the stadium complex will be surrounded by a massive landscape of 350.000 sqm, decorated with shaded trees, walking/jogging and bicycling tracks, an outdoor covered gym, as well as playgrounds.
IHF president Dr Hassan Moustafa was clearly impressed. “You can see that the standard of organisation and venues here is more than an Olympic Games standard.”
“Since 2000 I have been the IHF president and before that I was chairman of the Commission of Coaching and Methods, so I have been involved with organising a lot of World Championships and attended many Olympic Games. I can honestly say these venues and infrastructure here in Doha are the best I have seen,” added Dr Moustafa.
