Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani (second left) (Chairman at Ezdan Holding Group), to his right side engineer Hesham Al-Sahatri (CEO at Sak Holding Group), and on his left side Engineer Marwan Zugheib (The owner of MZ Architects) and standing by his side, Abdul Rahman Al-Najjar (Advisor to Chairman at Sak Holding Group).
DOHA: Qatar’s “Valley City” project, a unique “live-work-play” city being developed by SAK Holding Group has won an international award at the prestigious MIPIM Future Project Award Ceremony in Cannes, France.
The project was chosen as the best project in the “Regeneration & Masterplanning” category, which is one of the most important international architectural awards recognised regionally and globally, said a statement.
The event was organised by Architectural Review, a renowned engineering magazine.
Qatar Olympic Committee project, the “Doha City Tennis Stadium”, topped the “Sport & Stadiums” category at the awards.
Valley City project received a special mention from the judges, who considered the project as a “consolidated architectural milestone” and said the designs are highly creative showcasing elegant engineering and architectural details that respond to the growing population’s basic and future needs, the statement said.
Located on a 3m sq metre desert plot between Doha and Al Khor, Valley City is intended as a live-work-play city for middle-income expatriates and Qatari citizens.
Its urban grid is built perpendicular to the hot desert wind whose path, generated by the wind turbulences, leads to the development of a linear city with a catalytic green valley crossing it between residential fingers.
The concept of the project is to build a city near one of the stadiums where the sporting events of the World Cup 2022 will be held, said the statement.
The judges commented: ‘An unusual proposition for Gulf city-making is provided without recourse to the ubiquitous glass tower. The analysis of how conventional urban forms are the consequence of inheritance and subdivision provides the basis for an intriguing alternative.’
