Narrating Doha’s contemporary architecture: the then, the now, the drama, the theater, and the performance

Doha, the capital of Qatar, keeps positioning and re-inventing itself on the map of international architecture and urbanism with different expressions of its unique qualities in terms of economy, environment, culture, and global outlook. In many respects, it is pictured as an important emerging global capital in the Gulf region with intensive urban development processes. In this essay, I introduce a narrative of Doha’s contemporary architecture that resembles a drama for a theater with performers contributing to scenes exhibited to the local public and the global spectator. This article was redeveloped as a book chapter. See: Narrating Doha’s contemporary architecture: the then, the now, the drama, the theater, and the performance Salama, A. 2013 Middle East: Landscape, City, Architecture. Mateo, J. L. & Ivanisin, K. (eds.). London, United Kingdom, p. 94-101 8 p.