Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium is one of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. BDP Pattern was appointed Lead Designer and Architect for the Stadium, training facilities and the masterplan surrounding the 69-hectare precinct. The conceptual theme for the site is the desert. The resulting stadium acts as a landmark for those arriving or leaving the city and acts as a literal marker along the Durkan highways as you move into the desert of Qatar. It is the last marker of the exit and return to or from the desert and around the stadium are numerous curved concession stands that take their forms directly from the sand dunes.

This translates into a masterplan concept of a journey in the desert landscape, configured using a circle-packing geometry. A key feature of the stadium is its elegant, ornate façade: a contemporary interpretation of traditional Naquish, specific to Qatari culture. Each pattern is rooted in the heritage of Qatari people – they can be found on the houses of craftsmen and tradesman across Doha. This builds on the theme of how powerful symbols are embedded in local culture, with a universal appeal. The stadium’s distinctive façade was created using the cutting-edge parametric design so that the façade also plays an important role in cooling the building. The result is a landmark for Qatar that works effectively, both as a world-stage for sport and, we hope, something that is genuinely meaningful and welcoming locally.

Within the stadium, both the 40,000 spectators and the players will be artificially cooled to create what the architecture studio terms an “open air-cooled venue”. The pitch is cooled by with air from the sides of the pitch, while each seat is cooled by either from below or above. These localised micro-climates ensure that all the relevant spaces are cooled without the need to cool the entire stadium volume.

Staying true to the original intent of designing a string of welcoming, family-friendly environments, BDP Pattern incorporated traditional materials and methods to instil a sense of place and heritage. A carefully-considered palette of materials and spatial arrangements with an integrated lighting design, ensures a cohesive design experience for visitors from the point of arrival in the precinct to the moment they take their seat inside a lounge or within the stadium bowl. The interiors packages include everything from concessions and concourses to VIP lounges and skyboxes, player changing rooms, and press conferencing facilities, with luxury and comfort evident trends, throughout.

Following the World Cup, around 20,000 seats in the upper bowl will be removed to reduce the capacity of the stadium, with the seats being reused in another venue.

The stadium will become the long-term home for football team Al Rayyan SC.