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FOCUS
ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTS HAVE A UNIQUE WAY OF LOOKING AT
PROBLEMS, SAYS YAUSIF ALBAKER, WHO USES THIS
WE LIVE
CONCERNS SUCH AS AS THE IMPACT OF
URBANISATION ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN DOHA.
IMPROVES
IN CONVERSATION WITH SINDHU NAIR.
THE
FOCUS
E G Y P T R E S O RT
opportunity, he says.
And then at the peak of what many
would call a career high, after Qatar won
the 2022 World Cup bid, Albaker decided
to start his own multidisciplinary design
practice. Earlier I had worked with a few
world-renowned architects for the Qatar
2022 project - Rem Koolhas, Zaha Hadid
and Norman Foster, to name a few. It was
very difficult for me, being an architect,
to be involved in an architectural project
and not have any control over it. Working
with these architects gave me the passion
and confidence to start my own firm, to
create my own designs, he says.
Four years down the lane he has no
regrets and relishes being the master of
his own designs. While work has been
exciting for Albaker and his team with
one huge multi-use retail project and one
large resort in Egypt almost finalised
on the drawing board, a multitude of
products, and even interior projects
completed, the architectural works are
DOHALIVE
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THE
FOCUS
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COMPETITION:
Private Developer
In this competition,
Albaker have
challenged
themselves to ask
how architecture
can best promote
the clients vision,
while disseminating
their core values.
QUICK
BITES
Favourite Building in Doha
Qatar University by Egyptian architect
Kamal el Kafrawi.
More signature architect buildings?
Yes, we cannot have enough. Qatar has
more signature architects working here
than any other country in the region.
Architects who have influenced you
All of the great architects have
influenced me in one way or the other.
I am interested in all the architects who
are working in Doha, to understand how
they handle unique challenges OMA
designing the Airport City; UNStudio
who are building the Doha Metro; Zaha
Hadids stadium design and so on.
While all of the signature architects
buildings are great, each of them has
left an imprint on the country. What
they represent, to me personally, is
a laboratory to look at. It is a special
feeling to understand the challenges
and then look at how they (signature
architects) have handled it.
A building you want to design
I would like to design the Corniche. I am
interested in how a huge influx of people
are affected by that physical structure,
whether you are interacting with people
on the Corniche, or just interacting with
the area while you are driving through.
It has a huge impact on the country and I
would like to understand this impact and
address this relationship one day.
Sustainable buildings
I am interested in sustainability in
Qatar. That has a huge part in improving
the quality of life. We should not look at
sustainability as a certificate but as an
important element when we design the
building. Like the panels in the DohAlive
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