story 01
Allies and Morrison
IN GROWING CITIES, LOOK TO GEOGRAPHY
AND CULTURAL IDENTITY
Globalisation poses an urban design dilemma. As the industrial revolution shaped cities like
Liverpool and Chicago, globalisation today is creating a new generation of urban centres. We see
it in sparkling new quarters sprouting up in emerging economies – the Dubais and Pudongs of this
world – to insertions in established global hubs like London. In both form and fabric, it is worth
remembering that each of these cities came from somewhere. There is a vernacular to work with.
The fluidity of borders and the internationalisation of capital
have brought about immense progress, leading to an explosion
in new building, especially in emerging market contexts.
While great wealth has been created – hundreds of millions
lifted out of poverty alone in China and India, for example – it
often has come at the expense of urban character. Many new
districts and cities look increasingly alike. Large swaths of
built heritage have been destroyed to make way for the new.
If industrialisation’s incidental threat to human happiness was
squalid living conditions, globalisation’s might well be the
homogenisation of our living environments.
Think for a moment of the most desirable urban places.
Istanbul’s Hagia Sofia, Suzhou’s ancient canals, the centre
of Paris – these are the kinds of places likely to come to
mind. Each is vastly different, but they all share one thing
in common. They tell you where you are. They tell a story
about the place you are in. They are also a good investment,
long outlasting the vagaries of fashion. People always come
back to them. They reveal topography. They reflect a local
culture. This unfolds at different scales, from the block to
the neighbourhood to an entirely new city.
twenty-two buildings, primarily residential and with active
commercial ground-floor uses. Simple buildings, they are
modern, but most importantly they feel local. There are traces
of the different cultural layers that have shaped Beirut. Clad in
stone, many of them incorporate tall oversized timber shutters
that are emblematic of Beirut architecture, a complement to
the traditional Lebanese balconies and shutters in neighbouring
older buildings. They are arranged around an interlocking
series of complex spaces, intentionally irregular, mimicking the
romance of earlier street life. They are arranged around an
interlocking series of complex spaces, intentionally irregular,
resulting in an intimate arrangement of public spaces that
recall the urban fabric of old Beirut. In the more than 20 years
since war concluded, Beirut has been quietly stitching the
pieces back together. It is through gestures like these, where
an old city that had gone off track, can begin to build a future
by remembering where it came from.
L o cLaol ,c aml o
, d
meor d
ne r n
A BLOCK IN BEIRUT
Cosmopolitanism is etched into the DNA of Beirut. A
Mediterranean city shaped by many cultures -- Ottoman,
Arab, French, Armenian, just to name a few – Beirut is one
of the oldest cities in the world and grew to be a centre for
exchange, trade and intellectualism in the region. In recent
years though, it was caught in the crossfire of the Lebanese
civil war, a slow-moving trauma that strained the city’s
diversity while leaving physical scars.
It is in this context where we have been architects for a
new block at the edge of the city’s historic centre. Called
District//S, this new insertion into an old city will have
L o c a l , Lm
oo
ca
d le, r m
n odern
A NEIGHBOURHOOD IN DOHA
If Beirut’s medicine is to replant the seeds of its urbane
character, then Doha’s would be planting down roots. Doha,
until very recently, was a small city. Like two of its nearby
cousins – Dubai and Abu Dhabi – it has undergone meteoric
growth in the last several decades, growing from a population
of 80,000 in 1970 to around a million residents today. Much
of this is due to imported labour, migrants from across the
region and an influx of expatriate workers. The sprawling
city has grown beyond recognition from the old coastal city
defined by sikkat – or narrow alleyways – that had a walkable,
compact character. As part of an effort to recreate (and
update) this home for the Qatari people, Doha’s Msheireb
Downtown development was conceived. The redevelopment
is seeking to rejuvenate a 31 hectare site in the heart of
the city, adjacent to the Emir’s Palace, to become a vibrant
compact quarter.
story 01
The Msheireb masterplan is unlike most recent new
developments in the region; rather than reinforcing the
footprint of (an often car-centric version of) Western culture
with little scope in furthering local culture and traditions,
this masterplan delves deep into the local history and fabric.
The masterplan has the DNA of a local pre-modern city. It
puts people first, cars second, introducing a new public realm
enabled by a tight-knit urban grain that creates natural
shading. It is no coincidence that old cities in this hot desert
region grew up organically in this way. Allies and Morrison has
been deeply involved in the project as ‘architectural voice’ for
the overall masterplan and as design architect for a number
of buildings. In doing so, we have strived for a collection of
contemporary buildings that will look and feel Qatari.
Allies and Morrison
human development index. The country’s progressive
Sultan and leadership have carefully managed Oman’s
modernisation, with an emphasis on cultural sustainability
that comes from a desire to preserve the country’s rich
heritage. Working for the Omani government’s development
arm, we have developed a masterplan for a new capital
district – Madinat al Irfan – for a future population of 100,000
to the west of Muscat. The new urban area will accommodate
Muscat’s expected growth well into the future.
The masterplan strives to create a distinct and unique place
with a compelling vision that will generate significant value
and interest in Oman globally by tapping into the area’s sense
of locality. Irfan will be set within the existing topography,
working around the Wadi ecosystem found onsite to work
with the distinctive terrain of hilltops, valleys and steep
gullies. A linear Wadi park sits at the heart of Irfan stringing
together a series of centres, all of which are compact and
tightly woven together through complex geometries with
bridges connecting them across the Wadi. Buildings will be
simple, and like Mshiereb, will be clustered close together
to encourage walkability and provide natural shading.
Architectural guidelines being drawn up are inspired by
the local vernacular, providing a 21st-century expression of
Omani cultural identity.
In addition to our sitewide role, we have been design architects
for a number of buildings in Msheireb’s first phases. The first
phase is the Diwan Amiri Quarter, which sits at the northeast
of the site across from the existing seat of the Emir of Qatar.
The new quarter is an important collection of civic buildings,
containing the offices for the Emir’s staff, the barracks for
the Emir’s guard, the Qatar National Archive and Eid Prayer
Ground – all designed by Allies and Morrison. Completed this
year, each building retains its individuality, but is designed
within the strong design codes and ethos of the wider Mshiereb
development. Previewing the construction of these five
years earlier, as the masterplan first emerged publically, The
Architectural Review opined – ‘Msheireb is a pioneering scheme
for the Middle East, but even defining it in those terms doesn’t
really do justice to its monumental ambitions’.
A CITY IN OMAN
Monumental ambition is at the heart of another Allies and
Morrison masterplan just taking shape on the edges of
Muscat, the capital of Oman, about a 1,000 km down the
southeast of Doha. Oman takes a considered approach to its
development. The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) has ranked it as the single most improved country
in terms of human development since it started its annual
Irfan, and the projects in Doha and Beirut, show us that cities
can grow and ‘modernise’ without having to forget who they
are. And, perhaps ironically, globalisation has made all too
important that most precious of commodities – authenticity
and uniqueness – which means this strategy is also a wise
investment. Every place, regardless of the particularities of
its geography or the nuances of its identity, will be wellserved when it works with that very geography and identity.