“There’s nothing like this anywhere,” says Doug Smith, principal in charge and project leader for design firm Ellerbe Becket. “Not even in the sports-crazed United States.”
The 17,600 m2 facility is a key component of Doha’s 2006 Asian Games complex that will include stadiums, arenas, a natatorium and a number of other new and renovated facilities. Other related development in Doha includes a new airport to manage the influx of participants, officials and visitors.
The medical side of Khalifa includes emergency, radiology and operating rooms, 50 patient beds, rehabilitation services, gymnasium and running track, outpatient clinic, thallaso therapy and sports enhancement and testing. The in-patient areas include VIP suites and upgraded amenities more common to an upscale hospitality environment including room service dining, relaxation areas, exercise and leisure areas
The Khalifa Sports City Development Committee chose Ellerbe Becket following an international design competition in the Spring of 2003. Smith said Ellerbe’s reputation in both sports and health sciences was a plus. The firm has designed high-profile sports and healthcare projects around the world, from the Centennial Olympic Stadium in the U.S. and the Guangdong Olympic Stadium in China, to the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. and Samsung Medical Center in Korea.
Ellerbe Becket’s Washington, D.C., office, which also is designing an athletic facility for the American University in Cairo, is leading the effort, with assistance from the firm’s Minneapolis and Cairo staff. Qatar Design Consortium is the Doha-based Architectural/Engineering associate firm. Atelier Kamal El Kafrawi is the Doha-based interiors associate firm. Davis Langdon Arabian Gulf is the Doha-based quantity surveyor.
Awarded the commission in May 2003, the team finished its initial design phase in August. “Everyone from the design team to the client has been very efficient,” said Ellerbe Becket Medical Planner Gregory Chang. “When we got to the final design meeting we were all overwhelmed with the amount of work that had been produced in such a short time.”
Besides architecture, Ellerbe Becket is providing healthcare planning, interiors, mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering, structural engineering, medical equipment planning and landscape design. Groundbreaking will occur by the end of this year with completion scheduled for early 2006.
Doha is the first Arab city to be awarded the Asian Games. The Qatari capital fended off fierce competition from Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Delhi. The Olympic-style sports festival is composed of 37 events, ranging from track and field to swimming and weight lifting.
An innovator since its founding in 1909, Ellerbe Becket is a leader in architecture, engineering and the construction industry with office locations worldwide.
Contact: news@ellerbebecket.com
