Columbia University team gains insight into Education City

The graduate student and faculty visit aimed to cultivate a deeper understanding of Doha’s extraordinary urban environment within the scale and scope of the architectural expansion under way at QF. By visiting the exquisitely designed spaces and reflecting on the Education City master plan, nine students from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, at the Ivy League institution gained insight into the importance QF places on education in relation to sustainable development.

During the visit, Ameena Ahmadi, acting technical director of the Qatar Foundation Capital Projects Directorate, gave the delegation an overview of the key architectural features at Education City.

The delegation was then taken on a tour of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) within Education City, the Liberal Arts and Sciences Building and Qatar National Library, the latter still under construction.

Commenting on the Columbia University visit, Ameena said: “We are pleased to host students, architects and sustainability experts who always seem to appreciate the exceptional features incorporated within each development at Qatar Foundation.

“Each building has a unique identity that accounts for aesthetics and sustainability and with more than 60% of the Education City master plan now complete, we continue to work hard to reduce the environmental impact of construction,

“As we remain on the path of our ambitious plan to provide our community with hi-tech green buildings, working with future engineers and architects is always a pleasure as we demonstrate to them how sustainability and architecture fuse in harmony right here at Qatar Foundation.”

While at CMUQ, the delegation was treated to an informative lecture about urban development in Qatar by associate teaching professors Kelly Hutzell and Rami el Samahy from the Department of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. The engaging session offered students an insight into how Qatar’s capital city of Doha is currently being shaped into a major international hub.

The Columbia University visit to Doha was supported by Qatar Museums Authority and also saw the delegation visit Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.

The Ivy League Education City visit was part of a long-term research project with Doha, allowing students to reflect on the relationship between architecture and collecting and considering architecture as an agent that organises, supports and informs various contemporary collecting practices.