Doha Opera House

The Royal Opera House is proposed for a site adjoining Souq Waqif along the historic shoreline – enclosed by heritage buildings on three sides and facing the open Corniche towards the north. We have
designed the building as a sequence of layers, slowly changing from outside to inside as one approaches from the north. The auditorium and its encasing circulation spaces are expressed as a maroon-coloured sculpture glimpsed through a forest of columns carrying a shading canopy. The outer canopy structure consists of a simple grid of mass concrete walls, forming a shaded void and creating an informal forecourt and public space facing the sea. In front of the Opera House, a new square hides the passing highway traffic and allows for a seamless connection from the Opera House to an Opera Park and the Corniche.