WORK is in progress on an award-winning financial hub in the prestigious West Bay area of Doha, with construction of its shell and core element due for completion by the end of 2013.

The Barwa Financial District (BFD), as it is known, is expected to be among the first certified sustainably designed construction projects in the Middle East. The project is being built on a 71,000 sq m plot along one of the main arterial routes serving West Bay and running in parallel with the Corniche Road, with views of both the city and towards the Arabian Gulf.

With a gross built-up area of almost 700,000 sq m and a net usable area of a little over 275,000 sq m, the development once complete will comprise one of the largest mixed-use office schemes in the West Bay and will be promoted as a landmark location.

Since early last year, Bouygues Bâtiment International, a subsidiary of France’s Bouygues Construction, has been constructing the complex under a contract worth QR5 billion ($1.4 billion).

An artist’s impression of the towers in the Barwa Financial District.

The complex encompasses nine office towers, a five-star business hotel, and accompanying retail premises. The nine towers offering office accommodation sit above the podium level. The towers start at level two with level one dedicated to maintenance and engineering, and vary in height, the tallest being 49 storeys high. The hotel tower comprises a ground, mezzanine and 23 upper floors, with 409 rooms, as well as restaurants, a spa and a ballroom/convention centre capable of seating approximately 1,000 people.

In addition, there will also be a prayer hall, service and communal areas and an energy centre. The development will provide approximately 5,000 car-parking spaces over three levels of basement and a two-storey detached parking building.

BFD, being developed by Barwa Real Estate, has been designed by KEO International Consultants, which was selected because of its world-class design credentials, and a highly-ranked project and construction management expertise. KEO has considerable experience in designing world class buildings in the Middle East region.

Commenting on the project, CEO of BFD Talal Jondi says: “Our aim has always been that Barwa Financial District will demonstrate the highest design-and-build specifications equivalent to standards expected in other capital cities around the world. But the intention to fit into the immediate urban landscape was very important to us when the initial design scope was considered.”

On schedule ... work in progress at BFD site.

Unique design
In its design, two “nautilus” forms spiralling in opposing directions create a dynamic flow of mass and space. The opposing spiralling geometry builds up the movement of the towers to create the pinnacle at the southwest corner of the site creating a landmark tower visible from the West Bay Area as well as the main road arteries west of the site.

BFD is unique in its design and relates to its surrounding in three different ways: building form, external materials, and traditional shading elements. The designers have consciously situated the smaller towers towards the city side and allowed them to gradually increase in height towards the West Bay area.

They have interpreted the traditional shading elements of the past and created metal shading screens – ‘mashrabiyas’ – to provide shading to the tower glass facades while at the same time evoking a culturally recognisable pattern over each tower. The facades of the project juxtapose the natural materials of terracotta and stone with man-made materials of glass and metal screens.

Landmark feat
The project, which was launched in September 2009, achieved a regional record last year when it reached a crucial stage in the early stages of its construction: BFD carried out what is believed to be the single largest continuous concrete pours in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and one of the largest in the world for a private real estate development, according to a spokesman for Barwa Real Estate.

“This major milestone saw a total of 11,000 cu m poured by an average of eight pumps simultaneously working on site and 32 trucks per hour pouring concrete as it became available. The pour took almost 43 hours to complete,” says the spokesman.

“This extremely complex exercise required the mobilisation of all available capabilities and the synchronising of efforts of a large number of teams involved in the project to ensure quality and success. A number of specialised experts in managing mega projects, as well as quality controllers and surveyors were deployed at the site. Equipment and plant, as well as manpower, were put on standby in case of any contingency during the operation,” he adds.

The project has already won international accolades. In November last year, BFD won the ‘World’s Best’ title in the international office development category at the International Property Awards.

“The award was presented at a ceremony attended by more than 500 leading property professionals from across the globe gathered at the Lancaster Hotel in London,” he says.

This prestigious recognition followed three awards in the Arabian heats and winning overall ‘Best Office Development’ for the entire Middle East Region.

“Achieving a ‘World’s Best Award’ is a first for a commercial development in the Middle East region and demonstrates Qatar’s growing ability to compete in the highly competitive international property arena,” says Jondi.

Sustainable building
The project will be among the first certified sustainably designed developments in the Middle East, adhering to the Barwa Qatari Diar Research Institute’s (BQDRI) Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) standard.

“Barwa Financial District has incorporated cutting-edge design features that minimise its environmental impact. Each tower has gone through a thorough solar impact study, resulting in individual façade treatment to optimise shading effectiveness,” the spokesman says. “The occupancy-based lighting throughout the project makes better use of energy resources while a grey water recycling system collects rainwater and condensation. With so many major design aspects of the project in compliance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) green building rating system and European standard EN 13779, BFD is an international model for sustainable development.”

Barwa’s latest
Barwa, one of Qatar’s leading real estate and investment companies, has grown rapidly since it was established in 2005 to include 21 businesses in five business segments: local real estate; international real estate; infrastructure investment; business services; and financial services and investments. Supporting these units is a group of business services such as project and programme management, facilities management, training and research.

Among the latest projects unveiled by Barwa Real Estate is a massive new automotive centre at Baraha City.

Known as Baraha Motor City, the QR2-billion ($549.3 million) project in Doha, covering almost 2 million sq m of land to be provided by the government, will create a self-contained integrated community to attract motorists seeking a broad range of automotive-related services.

Unveiled at the end of January, the project aims be a key destination for anyone wishing to purchase private or commercial vehicles, vehicle-related products and to facilitate auxiliary car-related activities and the needs of consumers.
The main hub of the city will provide retail and merchandising areas, commercial offices for trading, insurance and logistics, car showrooms and light food and beverage outlets.

In addition, there will be an area for car auctions, both private and public, and for workshops offering repairs and garage services as well as vehicle technical inspections. Driving schools and test track zone are also planned, along with heavy commercial vehicles and truck parking zones.

Workers at Baraha Motor City will be provided with community facilities such as a medical centre, banking, a police station, petrol station, fire station and masjid. The administration zone will house government offices such as a traffic department for car registrations and property and facilities management.

The mega project will add to Barwa’s sizeable portfolio of developments ranging from housing to retail, from fitness centres to hospitals and schools, from hospitality to offices and financial business centres. Apart from the BFD and Bahara Motor City, the company’s portfolio includes Barwa Village, Masaken Mesaimeer and Al Sailiya, Barwa Commercial Avenue and Barwa City, as well as major international investments such as Barwa New Cairo in Egypt, the Ottoman Project in Turkey and the Astrakhan Project in Russia.