New York-based SOMA Architects has broken ground on Shaza Kempinski, a 180-room hotel project in Doha, Qatar.
The hotel is being constructed by developer Domopan in partnership with Kempinski Hotels and will be an alcohol-free, Sharia-compliant destination. In addition to the 15 floors of guestrooms and ground floor, the building will hold three basements, a ballroom, two restaurants, a spa, business center, and a cigar lounge. The design will culminate with a celebrity chef-run restaurant and outdoor pool terrace on the roof.
“We are thrilled to see work on Shaza Kempinski reach this important construction milestone,” says SOMA founder Michel Abboud. “The hotel will serve guests looking for the utmost in luxury and innovative design, and upon completion it will be a key element in an area undergoing incredible transformation. We are proud to add our distinctive design to this emerging skyline.”
Shaza Kempinski’s design features an outer glass façade that gives it a regional identity. An Islamic-inspired Arabesque pattern will be silkscreened onto the glass, and then manipulated using Grasshopper parametric design software to create a translucent mashrabiya. Its density on the glass changes depending on where more or less light needs to be allowed into the structure. The façade was designed with Doha’s desert climate in mind.
