Columbia University Architecture Delegation Gains Insight into Education City

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development recently hosted a delegation from Columbia University in the City of New York for an overview of the unique architecture and interior design within Education City in Qatar.

The graduate student and faculty visit aimed to cultivate a deeper understanding of Doha’s extraordinary urban environment within the scale and scope of the architectural expansion underway at Qatar Foundation. By visiting the exquisitely designed spaces and reflecting on the Eduation City masterplan, nine students from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, at the Ivy League institution, gained insight into the importance Qatar Foundation places on education in relation to sustainable development.

During the visit, the delegation was briefed by Ameena Ahmadi, Acting Technical Director of the Qatar Foundation Capital Projects Directorate, who presented them with an overview of the key architectural elements at Education City. The delegation was then taken on a tour of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) within Education City, the Liberal Arts and Sciences Building and the Qatar National Library – which is still under construction.

Commenting on the Columbia Univeristy visit, Ameena said:“We are pleased to host students, architects and sustainability experts who always seem to appreciate the exceptional features incorporated within each development at Qatar Foundation.”

“Each building has a unique identity that accounts for aesthetics and sustainability and with more than 60 per cent of the Eduation City masterplan now complete we continue to work hard to reduce the environmental impact of construction,

“As we remain on the path of our ambitions plan, to provide our community with hi-tech green buildings, working with future engineers and architects is always a pleasure as we demonstrate to them how sustainability and architecture fuse in harmony right here at Qatar Foundation.”

While at CMU-Q the delegation was treated to an informative lecture about urban development in Qatar by Associate Teaching Professors Kelly Hutzell and Rami el Samahy from the Department of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University. The engaging session offered students insight into how Qatar’s capital city of Doha is currently being shaped into a major international hub.

The Columbia University visit to Doha was supported by  Qatar Museums Authority and saw the delegation visit the Mathaf museum in Education City. The Ivy League Education City visit was part of long-term research project. With Doha as one of the main case studies this semester, the visit was intended to allow students to reflect on the relationship between architecture and

Collecting, considering architecture both as an agent that organises, supports, and informs various contemporary collecting practices.