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THE

FOCUS

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE


Architect Yausif Al Baker.
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GLAM INTERIORS + DESIGN

ARCHITECTURE
ARCHITECTS HAVE A UNIQUE WAY OF LOOKING AT
PROBLEMS, SAYS YAUSIF ALBAKER, WHO USES THIS

CHANGES THE WAY


INIMITABLE CHARACTERISTIC TO LOOK OUTSIDE


THE PROJECT AND FIND INGENIOUS SOLUTIONS TO

WE LIVE
CONCERNS SUCH AS AS THE IMPACT OF
URBANISATION ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN DOHA.

IMPROVES
IN CONVERSATION WITH SINDHU NAIR.

THE QUALITY OF LIFE

THE
FOCUS

E G Y P T R E S O RT

Luxury Resort in Marsa Alam.


The building accommodates
the resorts main food and
beverage outlets, front and
back-of-house areas, and
public and leisure facilities.
The building attempts to
tackle the resort industrys
largest obstacle, how
can programmes adapt to
seasonality?

Yausif Albaker, owner and principal


architect of Albaker Architects, is in
his early 30s but he has already ticked
off most of what he has aspired to do.
Not that there is much that he doesnt
desire to be involved in when it comes
to design.
We dont only practice design, we
want to contribute to the education
sector too - helping with feedback,
technical or cross-disciplinary
discourses, says Albaker who also
heads the advisory board of the design
college at the Virginia Commonwealth

I worked in the building industry and then


as an in-house architect for Qatar 2022. That
was a unique experience, something that can be
called a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
University of Qatar. What excites
this architect most is to explore
the industry and to understand the
different disciplines involved; a
360-degree approach to design. That,
in part, explains the detour Albaker
took after his degree in architecture,
turning towards construction and
then project management, to expand
his capabilities and understanding in
each of these sectors. I worked in the
building industry and then as an inhouse architect for Qatar 2022. That
was a unique experience, something
that can be called a once-in-a-lifetime
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GLAM INTERIORS + DESIGN

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

Mixed Use Development,


Boutique Hotel and Retail,
Doha DohAlive is a focused
hotel and retail development
located close to the airport.
It is characteristic in the way it
connects public retail spaces
with hotel functions.

still in the close-to-launch and approval


stages as of now. Architecture as you
know is very slow. The DohAlive project
(the multi-use retail project next to
Crowne Plaza) is finally going live and
the details of this multi-use commercial
project will be revealed soon to
the media.
This slow yet prolific practice is in stark
contrast to the fast pace of the Qatar
2022 project and the one experience
that Albaker can never ever forget. The
showcase stadium was completed within
two years, from designing to building.

But after this adrenaline rush, Albaker


was also involved in the development
management side of five projects,
exposing him to the finer aspects of
feasibility planning before getting
onboard a project.
My only condition was that I be
involved in the designing of the projects
that were being finalised, he says,
paving the way for the design firm that
he had already planned to begin (one
particular project he was working on,
however, is still in the approval stage at
the Urban Planning Ministry.)
Qatar is going through rapid
development. There is undeniable
change in the urban fabric of the city,
says Albaker. Architecture is dependent
on urbanism and urbanism is equally
dependent on the architecture
of the place.
Albaker is interested in the change that
is happening around him and is waiting
to comprehend the relationship these
developments have to the quality of life.
I am interested to know how
architecture has a say in the quality of
life, he says.
There is no precedent like Qatar in
terms of cities that have gone through so
much change in such a short time; it is
a learning opportunity for all cities, he
says. There might be mistakes because
of this, but I like to believe that all the
wisdom will improve the quality of
life here.
Interlaying features are analysed and
used within Albaker projects, exploring

THE BEAD BOX:


The Bead Box is designed
to store up to 66 traditional
Qatari prayer beads.
The design of the bead
box draws its inspiration
from the Middle Eastern
landscape, specifically the
sand dune formations.

GLAM INTERIORS + DESIGN

33

THE
FOCUS

NEW SALATA: MIXED-USE


DEVELOPMENT(CONCEPT
DESIGN) IN DOHA
The New Salata project
offers a new approach to
mixed-use buildings in the
Middle East where multiple
uses come together to
complement each other and
the surrounding community.
The building houses eight
different uses of commercial
and community programmes.

the effect of open spaces, identifying


the lack of such spaces and finally using
the answers to understand and solve the
architectural projects at hand.
It is an ongoing process, our studies
for one project might be used in all what
we do, he says.
An interesting question Albaker poses
is the relatioshipn a wall has to people.
He says, I have realised that the wall
has an isolating effecton the public
walking around the city, and nowhere
is this more prominent than in Qatar,
where the walls are undeniably higher.
In London or Paris, there is a connection
that exists between a building and the
public, a sense of attachment or a longing
that that makes you feel like part of the
citys fabric. That is something we lack
here and this sense of isolation and
disconnect is not just a physical one but
something beyond.
This is also how Albaker Architects
approaches design, working around
questions that indirectly and directly
affect the structure: understanding
complex interlays in design, thinking
beyond the building while involving
every facet of life, being empathetic to
the implications of architecture on all

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GLAM INTERIORS + DESIGN

of this, and using all this to present that


unique building that has answers to
most of the questions posed. Musing on
design and architecture as two facets of
the same concept, Albaker believes that
architecture is a bit different than art:
it mediates between art and function.
There is an architectural thought
process, and it varies from architect to
architect, that seeks to address every
product or plan with that mindset.
Architects have a unique way of solving
problems. We produce tables, even
baby bassinets, within an architectural
paradigm, and the way architects
approach any issue is unique.

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

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 project.
project. The design of the faade changes
according to the intensity of the sun.
The arbiters that expand and contract
depending on the suns intensity act as
a passive system within the design of
the building. The showcase stadium
by the Qatar 2022 project was one of
the buildings that looked at sustainable
issues and answered most of the
challenges thrown at it.
Work under masters
I would love to go back to my alma
mater, SCI-Arc, because there is
something unique happening there.
I would also like to work with
Jeff Kipnis, a critic and theorist in
architecture who has a unique way of
looking and understanding architectural

problems. I would like to have his eye for


looking at a unique problem.
Favourite city
I like what is happening in cities around
how they interact with the public.
Los Angeles, Manhattan, London,
Amsterdam, Paris; I would like to
understand what makes them unique.
The architectural period you love
The 90s was a very interesting period,
when the computers had just arrived and
everyone was trying to adapt to that tool.
I like historical structures for what they
are but not for reproduction; they were
meant to be in the era they were in. You
can make your interpretations but never
a reproduction.
GLAM INTERIORS + DESIGN

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