Introverted architecture and the human dimension : the conflict of placemaking in the disconnected urban fabric of Doha, Qatar
Name
890130784-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
27.43 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
dbf9aa61772dc40cda27570c8b2dd38d
Author(s)
Sabouni, Farrah
Advisor(s)
Brent Ryan and Nasser Rabbat.
Alternative Title
Conflict of placemaking in the disconnected urban fabric of Doha, Qatar
Date Issued
2014
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Doha, the capital city of Qatar, has become a metropolis of disconnected inward-facing mega-projects with no regard to the remaining fabric of the city. This can be owed to the relatively short urbanization period that the country has undergone, with its heavy reliance on international firms. The consequence is a city that has lost much of its historic core and vernacular architecture, and is defined by the large development projects that dot the capital. These mega-projects are treated as self-enclosed cities within the larger context of Doha. They are internally facing, turning their back to the city as a whole. The individual developments may be deemed successful, however not connecting to and addressing the larger fabric of the city negatively impacts Doha's urban environment. While proper design can address the disruptive nature of towers and mega-projects in the city fabric, the issue needs to be acknowledged at a larger scale. Unless there are regulations in place that enforce desired urban design qualities, the city as a whole will fall victim to the whims of each individual designer, which is the case in West Bay, the Central Business District of Doha. This project aims to demonstrate the insufficient built environment within the West Bay site, and note how the lack of regulations have created forms that turn their back to the city, producing an uninviting urban fabric with no regard to the human dimension. The realities of the planning process in Qatar are examined, along with comparative cases and literature on urban design, in order to propose recommendations for an alternative to the urbanism that currently exists.
Description
Thesis: M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2014.
Thesis: S.M. in Architecture Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2014.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 151-157).
Subjects
Urban Studies and Planning.
Architecture.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
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