Expressions – Msheireb: A New Heart for Doha

Join us on March 30th at 12 pm EST (8 PM Doha Time) for another exciting, virtual Expressions Art and Culture Talk, “Msheireb: A New Heart for Doha,” with architectural writer Michael Webb. 

Our Expressions: Art & Culture Talks are a recurring public creative dialogue that features a variety of personalities, artists, and creatives who have lived or worked in the Arab and Islamic Worlds and whose works were inspired and influenced by these cultures and people. 

In this talk, architectural writer Michael Webb will explore Msheireb, a new 77-acre urban development at the center of Doha. In contrast to the sterile, over-scaled commercial zones that blight boom cities from China to the Gulf, Msheireb is a harmonious, human-scaled community. Housing, hotels, restaurants, retail, offices, museums, and mosques are interwoven and linked by an electric tram.  It’s a modern interpretation of a traditional Arab city, inspired by the vision of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and crafted by a team of architects, engineers, and landscape designers. Together, they created a walkable, sustainable complex of shaded streets and open spaces, where cars and services are banished to subterranean levels. Reticent buildings are enriched by traditional Qatari ornament. An oasis of calm and restraint, Msheireb is a model for new development throughout the region. 

Michael Webb grew up in London and now lives in Los Angeles. Over the past 60 years, he has spent much of his time traveling around the world to explore and write about the best modern architecture. He has authored 25 books on architecture and design besides editing and contributing texts to a score of monographs. His reviews and essays have been published in leading journals in the US, Europe, and Asia.