Frida Escobedo to Design Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The new headquarters will be located on a section of Al Corniche, a waterfront promenade that curves northward from Amiri Diwan, Qatar's seat of government, to the skyscrapers in the West Bay business district. Specifically, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will sit next to and incorporate parts of the General Post Office, a building designed by UK firm Twist + Whitley Architects in the early 1980s with a zigurrat-like form and distinctive “pigeonhole” facades. Per today's announcement on the selection of Frida Escobedo Studio for MOFA, the post office building “will be preserved and adapted in part as a space for public programming associated with the Ministry’s role in cultural diplomacy.”

The office building for MOFO will be sited east of the post office, in what is described as “a rhythmic composition of volumes that build on one another, creating a threshold between Qatar’s heritage and its global future.” The new building will terrace northward to retain views of the post office from the waterfront, while its exterior will be composed of vertical pillars that shade the interiors while also creating a dialogue with the post office's architecture. The team led by Escobedo has designed MOFO around a series of courtyards with “lush gardens that offer moments of respite while enhancing thermal comfort and energy efficiency.” Together, the complex of new and old buildings will comprise 70,000 square meters (750,000 square feet).

The selection of Frida Escobedo Studio, with Buro Happold engineers and Studio Zewde landscape designers, came out of an invited competition organized and managed by Malcolm Reading Consultants on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Qatar Museums. The first stage invited 40 teams, while a shortlist of seven teams advanced to the second stage. Today's announcement of Frida Escobedo Studio did not indicate an anticipated start of construction or completion date for the project.